ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author does a good job of clearly, accurately and simply stating the major tasks of relationship building and the traps that derail and harm relationships. She finds some of the most difficult work occurs at the fundamental level in which one of the couple does not believe in equality and respect. The traps and pitfalls in developing intimacy are covered from the perspective of the therapist or through the eyes of the therapist. The author presents the traps in a straightforward, cognitive manner yet they are experienced by the couple in an affective, emotional manner. Certainly the tasks and traps of relationship building as discussed by Joan Atwood could be applied to bigger systems. The same fundamental tasks of communication and relating occur at the agency level, the community, state, national and international level.
