It's a story that I have heard before. In a previous session, a therapist has taught the couple to make "I" statements or some other communication technique.. Today, he now witnesses what the couple already knows; when the tension gets high, the technique has little effect in creating change in their arguing. In fact, the couple does not even consider using the technique, even though the therapist is in the room! I cant imagine that the technique will be remembered when the

When I think of couples in conflict, I certainly think about how I can help the couple in therapy structure their conversation in productive ways. The content of what is said and how it is said is definitely important. The challenge at times for therapists is that no matter what structure or strategies we offer to the couple in session, the couple might go home and continue the problematic pattern in their conflict communication. Sometimes, communication strategies are just n

Dr. Butch Losey Author of Managing the Aftermath of Infidelity As a couple's therapist working with couples recovering from infidelity, I regularly encounter situations in which the hurt partner desperately needs compassion from the partner who had the affair. Couples at times though are unable or unwilling to offer a compassionate response when it seems so obvious that this is the one thing their partner most needs. In the context of infidelity treatment, compassionate respo