Effective Couples Therapy

Research has shown that troubled marriages can generate emotional distress; whereas, a healthy, fulfilling marriage can improve mental and physical health, life satisfaction, and even increase financial well-being. Demand for couples therapy is growing, yet too few therapists have adequate tools for treating couples comfortably and competently. In this course, you will develop the skills to launch treatment effectively and rapidly access deeper roots of couples’ difficulties. This course will build your capacity to replace clients’ negative cyclic interactions with positive ones and manage their anger during sessions and in the marriage. This course trains you to coach collaborative communication skills, guide win-win resolution of conflicts, and aim beyond secure to fostering a loving attachment.

This product is not included in the APA Unlimited CE program.

Skills Applied Designation
This designation indicates that the learning experience is designed for application of techniques, methods, frameworks, or interventions through cases, simulations, exercises, demonstrations, or guided practice activities. It does not represent certification, licensure, or verified competency in professional practice.

Module 1: The Fundamentals of Effective Couples Therapy

1. Describe an example of how the “one-therapist rule” can make therapy for married clients more beneficent, and less likely to be maleficent, than separate therapists for the individual and couple treatment components.
2. Explain effective confidentiality rules for working with couples and how a “no secrets” rule is problematic.
3. Draw the hand map and the circle of skills, two key underlying conceptual frameworks for guiding couples therapy.
4. Clarify what makes chairs preferable to a sofa for client seating when working with couples.
5. Name the three ”hats“ that a therapist needs to be prepared to wear, that is, the three essential therapist skill-sets.

Module 2: Coaching Collaborative Talking and Listening

1. Identify the talking skills essential for sustaining collaborative dialogue.
2. Identify the necessary listening skills for sustaining collaborative dialogue.
3. Clarify the four attributes of effective problem-solving dialogue.

Module 3: Coaching Strategies

1. Clarify the importance of coaching strategies.
2. Utilize the 6D’s of effective coaching.

Module 4: Guiding Win-Win Conflict Resolution and Clean-Ups After Upsets

1. Explain the three-step sequence that enables conflicts to be resolved cooperatively, with a positive outcome for all involved.
2. List techniques that enable a therapist to guide clients safely from conflict to resolution by keeping the dialogue cooperative.
3. Implement the process that enables couples to clean up after upsets that generated negative emotions.
4. Guide clients along the several steps of effective apologies.

Module 5: Healing: Anger, Core Concerns, and Reciprocal Interaction Cycles

1. Help couples to list repetitive conflicts, issues that create dissension again and again.
2. Identify the core concerns that underlie repeated negative emotional reactions.
3. Guide the depth dive technique for uncovering the roots of core concerns.
4. Clarify and reverse couples’ reciprocal negative interaction cycles that perpetuate fighting.

Module 6: Healing: Implementing the Feelings-First Rule and Anger-Associated Diagnoses

1. Implement the “feelings first rule” by noting emotions that arise during a session and immediately exploring them.
2. Gather a behavior assessment of anger with the anger log.
3. Choose from best possible light (BPL), the depth dive, and a grow-big visualization for healing negative emotions.
4. Consolidate with couples the three steps of cleaning up negative emotions after upsets.

Module 7: Healing: Attachment Patterns, Anxiety, and Depression

1. Healing begins with diagnosis: Use a visualization technique to clarify attachment patterns.
2. Implement BPL and depth dive treatment techniques.
3. Facilitate anxiety relief using visualizations and more.
4. Implement the 3P’s visualization for alleviating depression.
5. Use the “do or become” visualization to heal resentments that block a secure attachment.

Module 8: Enhancing Positivity and Consolidating Gains

1. Suggest to couples multiple ways to increase the positivity that they share with each other.
2. Conclude a couple’s treatment in a way that consolidates their gains.
3. Recall the two primary conceptual maps that guide the interventions in this course.
4. List the main techniques that have been taught in this course.