ABSTRACT

How does a couples’ therapist actually run a 50–minute session? What needs to happen? What must happen? Managing this time and knowing how to guide a couple through what can be a rocky roller coaster ride is a critical skill. This volume breaks down the entire 50 minutes of a couple’s therapy session from beginning to end. It divides the 50 minutes into eight time period stages that may overlap. The distinctive characteristics and challenges of each time period are examined. Numerous case examples are given throughout the book. The couples therapist is addressed directly with many suggestions given for handling the situations that can arise in each period. In addition, the couples therapist’s own experiences during the session are explored.

chapter |10 pages

Introduction

section I|10 pages

The Lead-in

chapter 1|8 pages

Starting Off

section II|18 pages

Beginning: The First 5 Minutes

chapter 3|5 pages

Other Important Factors at the Beginning

chapter 4|5 pages

Bad Beginnings

section III|11 pages

Finding Direction: 5–10 Minutes

chapter 5|3 pages

Overview

chapter 6|7 pages

Issues in Finding Direction

section IV|13 pages

Establishing the Work: 10–20 Minutes

chapter 7|3 pages

Introduction

chapter 8|4 pages

Setup for the Work

chapter 9|5 pages

The Developing Work

Productive, Trouble, or Unproductive?

section V|92 pages

Full Steam Ahead: 15–40 Minutes

chapter 10|8 pages

Introduction

chapter 11|22 pages

Difficult Couples Therapy Sessions

chapter 12|21 pages

Classic Couples Therapy Sessions

chapter 13|18 pages

Special Types of Couples Therapy Sessions

chapter 14|14 pages

Deeper Couples Therapy Sessions

chapter 15|8 pages

Intervention Exercises

section VI|22 pages

Pulling It Together: 35–45 Minutes

section VII|7 pages

Ending: 45–50 Minutes

chapter 20|6 pages

Wrapping Up

section VIII|5 pages

Leaving

chapter 21|4 pages

Departing

section IX|7 pages

Summary Case Study

chapter 22|6 pages

Case Study