ABSTRACT
Central to the Needs Acquisition and Behavior Change (ABC) model approach to couples therapy is that, although it is not always necessary, dysfunctional behaviors can be treated more easily when the origins of these behaviors are properly understood and dealt with. At the same time, however, couples need to learn some pragmatic ways to circumvent behavioral patterns that have been less than helpful to them in the past. Many of these tools are simple in concept and, if they are used, can also provide couples with some much needed space in which to calm down before reacting to what promises to be a stressful moment. ese tools can be used in therapy and the lessons used therein brought home where, tentatively at ˜rst and then with gradually increasingly con˜dence, couples can start to implement them into their daily lives.
