The Science Of Couples And Family Therapy Behind The Scenes At The Love Lab

John and Julie Gottman, world-renowned for bringing an evidence base to couples therapy, report here the results of a second empirical revolution in understanding couples and families. This change is not based on their guesswork, but on state-of-the-art science. The book you hold in your hands finally completes the old general systems theory of the 1960s, which metaphorically described processes but did not actually research them. A new general systems theory and therapy is presented here, one which will have profound implications for powerful clinical work with both couples and families. This new theory is based on 45 years of careful basic scientific research with thousands of couples and families, including synchronized observational, interview, physiological, and questionnaire data. The Gottmans have studied some families for as long as 20 consecutive years. Their work has led to their highly replicated ability to precisely predict the future of relationships, relationship happiness, and whether couples will divorce or not with as much as 94% accuracy. Their empirical work has also led them to develop and test a theory of specifically what makes relationships work. Each construct in this theory is precise and measurable and it is all written about and described here. This book presents an original new way of understanding relationships and families. Both theoretical and highly practical, and it will help clinicians become more effective in their everyday work.

This introduction to couples and family counseling lays the foundation for student skill-building by encouraging the development of personal, professional, and ethical standards of practice. This third edition has been expanded to include couples counseling and updated to reflect recent research and current practice. Primary text features include a genogram delineating the history of the field; a comprehensive discussion of 13 widely used theories with real-life examples of quality work for each approach; a single, bicultural couple/family system case for comparison across models; and strategies for the integration and application of the models into clinical practice with diverse clients. To help readers apply the concepts they have learned, Dr. Bitter provides numerous Illustrative examples, case studies, sample client dialogues, and exercises for personal and professional growth. *Requests for digital versions from ACA can be found on www.wiley.com. *To purchase print copies, please visit the ACA website here *Reproduction requests for material from books published by ACA should be directed to [email protected]

This broad and innovative self-development guide shows readers how they can use scientific findings from contemporary positive psychology to enhance their lives. Containing dozens of practical exercises and real-life examples, it helps bring positive psychology findings from the lab into day-to-day life. Divided into six parts and covering a wide array of themes, this book is designed to help people with or without mental health problems enhance their well-being. It answers questions like: what is well-being? What are the main determinants of well-being, and how can we sustain it? There are also chapters on physical exercise, progressive muscle relaxation and mindfulness meditation, savouring pleasures, creative solution-finding and developing compassionate relationships. This non-technical and highly accessible book will be of interest to those from all backgrounds with an interest in self-development, as well as mental health workers and related professionals.

Whether you’re newly together and eager to make it work or a longtime couple looking to strengthen and deepen your bond, Eight Dates offers a program of how, why, and when to have eight basic conversations with your partner that can result in a lifetime of love. “Happily ever after” is not by chance, it’s by choice– the choice each person in a relationship makes to remain open, remain curious, and, most of all, to keep talking to one another. From award-winning marriage researcher and bestselling author Dr. John Gottman and fellow researcher Julie Gottman, Eight Dates offers an ingenious and simple-to-implement approach to effective relationship communication. Here are the subjects that every serious couple should discuss: Trust. Family. Sex and intimacy. Dealing with conflict. Work and money. Dreams, and more. And here is how to talk about them—how to broach subjects that are difficult or embarrassing, how to be brave enough to say what you really feel. There are also suggestions for where and when to go on each date—book your favorite romantic restaurant for the Sex & Intimacy conversation (and maybe go to a yoga or dance class beforehand). There are questionnaires, innovative exercises, real-life case studies, and skills to master, including the Four Skills of Intimate Conversation and the Art of Listening. Because making love last is not about having a certain feeling—it’s about both of you being active and involved.

Choices in Relationships takes readers through the lifespan of relationships, marriages, and families, and utilizes research to help them make deliberate, informed choices in their interpersonal relationships. Drawing on extensive research, authors David Knox, Caroline Schacht, and I. Joyce Chang challenge students to think critically about the choice-making process, consider the consequences involved with choices, view situations in a positive light, and understand that not making a choice is a choice after all. The Fourteenth Edition features over 1000 new citations, increased emphasis and discussion of diversity and inclusion throughout each chapter, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals, couples, and families. This title is accompanied by a complete teaching and learning package. Contact your SAGE representative to request a demo. Learning Platform / Courseware SAGE Vantage is an intuitive learning platform that integrates quality SAGE textbook content with assignable multimedia activities and auto-graded assessments to drive student engagement and ensure accountability. Unparalleled in its ease of use and built for dynamic teaching and learning, Vantage offers customizable LMS integration and best-in-class support. It’s a learning platform you, and your students, will actually love. Learn more. Assignable Video with Assessment Assignable video (available in SAGE Vantage) is tied to learning objectives and curated exclusively for this text to bring concepts to life. Watch a sample video now. LMS Cartridge: Import this title’s instructor resources into your school’s learning management system (LMS) and save time. Don’t use an LMS? You can still access all of the same online resources for this title via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site. Learn more.

Strategies and skills for therapists working with couples about to dissolve. Therapy with couples on the brink of relationship dissolution involves unique challenges. Partners present with high levels of conflict, low levels of intimate connection, disdain and discouragement, and limited patience or hope. These couples have often tried therapy without lasting success, and announce that “this is our last chance.” Partners want to see evidence in the first session that the therapist can offer something new and that change is possible. Peter Fraenkel presents a practical, creative, integrative approach that combines action- and insight-oriented techniques to help last-chance couples manage conflict, modulate intense negative emotions, address power struggles, develop mutual compassion, and restore emotional intimacy and pleasurable connection. Special attention is paid to developing a collaborative therapeutic alliance when partners have little motivation for therapy or faith that it can be effective. Through engaging in “nonbinding experiments in possibility,” partners can then better evaluate whether to “stay or go.”

Treating Couples Well shows clinicians how to create a collaborative approach to couple therapy, which will empower couples to take charge of their own treatment. Written in an engaging and conversational style, the book carefully explains how to help couples choose between a variety of clinical approaches and offers effective treatment strategies for a wide range of issues, including infidelity, intimacy and sexuality, communication, mental illness, and addiction. Chapters also explore the importance of considering the therapist’s own life experience and its impact on working with couples. Practical interventions, clinical vignettes, and homework exercises are included throughout to help therapists to successfully support the needs of each couple and to encourage meaningful work between sessions. Drawing on a plethora of case examples from the career of a leading couple therapist, Treating Couples Well will be a valuable resource to couple and marriage and family therapists at all levels.

This essential handbook provides clinicians with the tools to introduce Integrative Systemic Therapy (IST) into their practice working with individuals, couples, and families. Describing the "how to" and "how to decide what to do" aspects of IST, this book outlines a practical, problem-solving approach that considers client strengths and and cultural contexts in the process of integrating interventions from various therapy models and empirically supported treatments. Chapters demonstrate how problem-solving tasks can be accomplished using the IST blueprint for therapy and include scenarios that will challenge the reader to think through the specific steps for IST, encouraging them to consider the therapeutic alliance and the use of self in therapy. For supervisors, trainers, and clinicians familiar with IST, this book will enrich and deepen their understanding of it. The book is also relevant for clinicians and supervisors of all types of therapy who seek to become more integrative and systemic in their work.