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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 Couple Power Therapy, Dr. Peter L. Sheras and Dr. Phyllis R. Koch-Sheras demonstrate their positive approach to couples treatment. Rather than focusing merely on correcting specific relationship problems, they work with both partners to help them achieve a shared identity as a couple—an identity that centers on their vision for the future together, not on issues solely from the past that are the most frequent topics of couple sessions. In this session, Sheras and Koch-Sheras work with a couple who have recently considered divorce. The husband has recommitted himself to the marriage, and his wife has hope that they might be able to make the partnership work. With the aid of the therapists, the couple develops a joint proclamation—a statement that expresses their vision of themselves as a couple. The couple then begins to use this tool to strengthen their commitment to one another. This creates a renewed sense of purpose and specific plans for proceeding in recreating a healthier relationship.
This groundbreaking approach presents a new paradigm of relationships—one that deals with the couple as a single entity with its own unique personality and dynamics. Challenging the prevailing paradigm of individualism prevalent in traditional psychotherapy and Western culture, the therapists work with both partners to help them achieve a shared identity as a couple—an identity that centers on a powerful vision for their future together, not on issues solely from the past, which are the most frequent topics of couples sessions.
Peter L. Sheras, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical psychologist and a professor in the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education programs in clinical and school psychology. He has been in part-time independent practice for more than 30 years and has authored publications on couples, parenting, youth violence, and adolescent development, including Your Child: Bully or Victim: Understanding and Ending School Yard Tyranny (2002), "I Can't Believe You Went Through My Stuff: How to Give Your Teens the Privacy They Crave and the Guidance They Need (2004), and Clinical Psychology: A Social Psychological Approach (1979). He is the coauthor of the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents (SIPA). He holds a diplomate in clinical psychology, is a fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Sexologists and past president of the Virginia Psychological Association. He appears frequently as an expert in the media on topics of couples, adolescents, and families. He received his doctorate from Princeton University. Phyllis R. Koch-Sheras, PhD, is a practicing clinical psychologist and coauthor of several books on dreams and couples, including The Dream Sourcebook (1995), The Dream Sharing Sourcebook (1998) and Dream on: A Dream Interpretation and Exploration Guide for Women (1983). She is past president of the Virginia Applied Psychology Academy and the Virginia Psychological Association. Dr. Koch-Sheras received her doctorate from the University of Texas and completed her internship at the VA Medical Center in Palo Alto, California. She has worked in state hospitals, university counseling centers, and has maintained an active independent practice for more than 25 years. During that time, she has specialized in working with couples, families and groups. Dr. Koch-Sheras is an adjunct faculty member in the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education. The authors have been working with couples together since the mid-1970s and been training therapists for 25 years. They have been happily married for nearly three decades and have two adult children. Drs. Sheras and Koch-Sheras are heard regularly on the radio and currently live in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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