ABSTRACT
Couples therapy can be very difficult for partners. Sara and Bethany dread coming to sessions. Roger and Isabella feel an urgency about their future together and are looking to couples therapy to save their relationship. Right from the beginning of the session therapist may need to attend to how the couple is reacting to the therapy. The therapist need to determine if a usual beginning is, in fact, helpful or whether it needs to be changed. He may want to set a certain tone at the beginning of the session. Sometimes it may be difficult to conduct a normal couples therapy session if a couple has been impacted strongly by a trauma. There are also any number of normal external events that can greatly affect a couple's life, raising challenging issues. There may be some specific events which may be important to bring up at the beginning of the session.
