ABSTRACT
Once a direction is chosen, the couple and the therapist need to explore this direction and begin to lay out the work to be done. Establishing the Work is the period for laying the groundwork for the direction chosen and figuring out how the work will happen. The couple may be telling the story that illustrates the issues. In the Beginning section, structured and opened-ended beginnings were discussed. It would seem that if there is a structured beginning, the work of the session is set. Yet, a structured beginning is a trial. It may or may not take. Other directions may emerge. This Establishing the Work period is a time to assess what direction has taken hold and should or should not be pursued. In one session they give an account of the direction of the session moving from the couple's sexual relationship to the impact on the couple of growing up female and male in our society.
