Skip to Content

Doing Couple Therapy

Craft and Creativity in Work with Intimate Partners

By Robert Taibbi

Published May 27th 2009 by Guilford Press – 276 pages

Series: The Guilford Family Therapy

    Purchasing Options:

    Description

    Wise, compassionate, and highly practical, this engaging text covers the entire process of therapeutic work with couples, from opening sessions and assessment through skills building, addressing core issues, and termination. Students and novice couple therapists learn effective strategies for intervening with couples of any age who are struggling with acute crises or longstanding conflicts and power struggles. Rich with sensitive, detailed case material, the book features numerous exercises that help readers identify and develop their own strengths as practitioners. Self-care strategies and tips for getting the most out of supervision are provided. Special topics include how to address couple issues with only one partner and couple therapy applications for chronic mental health problems.

    Reviews

    "This thoughtful and practical guide carefully leads the therapist through each stage of the therapeutic encounter with a couple. Of particular value for therapists in training is a study guide at the end of each chapter that encourages readers to explore their own process and use-of-self as an instrument for change." - David E. Greenan, senior faculty, Minuchin Center for the Family, New York, USA

    "There are a number of books on doing couple therapy based on a particular model, but until now, there hasn't been a text for beginning couple therapists that is so comprehensive, practical, and eclectic. Illustrated with clear, compelling examples, this book is filled with the sage advice of a leader in the field. It is written in a direct, highly readable style, as if the reader were sitting in Taibbi's office receiving hours of supervision. Doing couple therapy can be like navigating a minefield—this book provides the map I wish I'd had when I was starting out." - Richard C. Schwartz, Center for Self Leadership, Oak Park, Illinois, USA

    Contents

    Into the Fray: Theoretical Foundation and Overview. The Basics: Clinical Goals and Tasks. Beginnings: Presentations, Assessments, and Goals. Beginnings in Action. Clearing the Clutter: Improving Communication Skills. Drilling Down: Core Issues. Termination. Of Money, Sex, and Children: Handling the Power Issues. The Challenges of the Early Years. Re-creating the Vision. Battle and Loss: Managing the Teenage Years. One Big Happy Family: Working with Stepfamilies. The Challenges of Old Age. One Helping Two, Two Helping One: Working with Individuals in Relationships. Life in the Details: The Nuts and Bolts of Couple Therapy.

    Author Bio

    Robert Taibbi, LCSW, in private practice, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Name: Doing Couple Therapy: Craft and Creativity in Work with Intimate Partners (Hardback) – Guilford Press 
    Description: By Robert Taibbi. Wise, compassionate, and highly practical, this engaging text covers the entire process of therapeutic work with couples, from opening sessions and assessment through skills building, addressing core issues, and termination. Students and novice couple...
    Categories: Marriage & Couples Therapy, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry & Clinical Psychology - Adult