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APA Psychotherapy Training Videos are intended solely for educational purposes for mental health professionals. Viewers are expected to treat confidential material found herein according to strict professional guidelines. Unauthorized viewing is prohibited.
In Sexual Health, Dr. Lisa Firestone demonstrates her approach to counseling couples who are experiencing relationship difficulties. Because sexuality is such an important part of a relationship, improving sexual intimacy often becomes central in any relationship counseling. Sexual issues themselves are often psychological in nature, and even where sexual problems are physical, a client's reaction to them is treatable psychologically.
In this session, Dr. Firestone works with a couple who, although they have been married for 23 years, have been distant and hostile with each other for much of their marriage. Dr. Firestone first looks at how partners see themselves and each other and then helps them set realistic goals to improve their communication and intimacy by reducing self-critical thinking.
The theoretical approach developed by Robert W. Firestone represents a broadly based, coherent system of concepts and hypotheses that integrate psychoanalytic and existential systems of thought. The theory explains how early interpersonal pain leads to defense formation and how these original defenses are reinforced as the developing child gradually becomes aware of his or her mortality.
Read more about the approach
is program and education director of the Glendon Association and adjunct faculty at the University of California (Santa Barbara) Graduate School of Education. She received her PhD from the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles.
Read more about Dr. Firestone
- Bader, E., Pearson, P. T., & Schwartz, J. D. (2000). Tell me no lies: How to face the truth and build a loving marriage. New York: St. Martin's Press.
- Firestone, R. W. (1985). The fantasy bond: Structure of psychological defenses. Santa Barbara, CA: Glendon Association.
- Firestone, R. W. (1987). Destructive effects of the fantasy bond in couple and family relationships. Psychotherapy, 24, 233–239.
- Firestone, R. W. (1988). Voice therapy: A psychotherapeutic approach to self-destructive behavior. Santa Barbara CA: Glendon Association.
- Firestone, R. W. (1990). Voices during sex: Application of voice therapy to sexuality. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 16, 258–274.
- Firestone, R. W. (1997). Combating destructive thought processes: Voice therapy and separation theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Firestone, R. W., & Catlett, J. (1999). Fear of intimacy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Firestone, R. W., Firestone, L., & Catlett, J. (2002). Conquer your critical inner voice. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
- Firestone, R. W., Firestone, L., & Catlett, J. (2003). Creating a life of meaning and compassion: The wisdom of psychotherapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Firestone, R. W., Firestone, L., & Catlett, J. (2006). Sex and love in intimate relationships. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Gilligan, C. (2002). The birth of pleasure. New York: Knopf.
- Lerner, H. G. (1985). The dance of anger: A woman's guide to changing the patterns of intimate relationships. New York: Harper & Row.
- Lerner, H. G. (1989). The dance of intimacy: A woman's guide to courageous acts of change in key relationships. New York: HarperPerennial.
- McKay, M., & Fanning, P. (1991). Prisoners of belief. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
- McKay, M., Fanning, P., & Paleg, K. (1994). Couple skills: Making your relationship work. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.
- Schnarch, D. (1991). Constructing the sexual crucible: An integration of sexual and marital therapy. New York: Norton.
- Schnarch, D. (1997). Passionate marriage: Love, sex, and intimacy in emotionally committed relationships. New York: Holt.
- Couple Power Therapy: Building Commitment, Cooperation, Communication, and Community in Relationships
Peter L. Sheras and Phyllis R. Koch-Sheras
- Enhanced Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy for Couples: A Contextual Approach
Norman B. Epstein and Donald H. Baucom
- Fear of Intimacy
Robert W. Firestone and Joyce Catlett
- Handbook of Counseling and Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Clients, Second Edition
Edited by Kathleen J. Bieschke, Ruperto M. Perez, and Kurt A. Debord
- HIV+ Sex: The Psychological and Interpersonal Dynamics of HIV-Seropositive Gay and Bisexual Men's Relationships
Edited by Perry N. Halkitis, Cynthia A. Gomez, and Richard J. Wolitski
- The Psychology of Couples and Illness: Theory, Research, and Practice
Edited by Karen B. Schmaling and Tamara Goldman Sher
- Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships
Robert W. Firestone, Lisa A. Firestone, and Joyce Catlett
- Sexual Orientation and Mental Health: Examining Identity and Development in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People
Edited by Allen M. Omoto and Howard S. Kurtzman
- Therapeutic Alliances in Couple and Family Therapy: An Empirically Informed Guide to Practice
Myrna L. Friedlander, Valentín Escudero, and Laurie Heatherington
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