Couples

Defusing Couples Conflicts with the Enneagram

A New Take on a Centuries-Old Tool

By making sense of one another’s temperamental styles through an Enneagram lens, therapists can help partners understand their differences in a new way. Read more

Neurodiverse Couples Therapy

The Truth about Relationships through a Neurospicy Lens

Couples therapy was designed for neurotypical people—yet we know that neurodivergence is everywhere. How can we better identify, help, and support... Read more

Can True Love Be Designed?

Transforming How We Experience and Express Love

Discover two models of love and how distinguishing between them can help therapists support clients in designing a conscious relationship. Read more

7 Benefits of Concurrent Couples Therapy

Revisiting an Underappreciated Approach

Concurrent couples therapy has advantages over conjoint therapy that get overlooked by many therapists. Discover 7 ways concurrent couples therapy can improve... Read more

Sexual Fantasies in Couples Therapy

The Art of Encouraging Erotic Imagination

It takes practice and courage to attune to a couple’s sensitivities and insecurities regarding sexual fantasies, but the payoff can be worth the clinical... Read more

Tammy Nelson Discusses Couple and Ketamine

A New Way to Enrich Relationships

Watch our interview with relationship expert Tammy Nelson on how ketamine is supercharging couples work. Read more

Taking Sides in Couples Therapy

The Importance of Ditching Neutrality

When one partner is clearly in the wrong, being an impartial couples therapist can do more harm than good. Read more

The Myth of Low Sexual Desire

Updating Our Ideas about Erotic Well-Being

Great sex over the long term is not about how much you want sex; it’s about how much you like the sex you’re having. Read more

The Dual Nature of Trauma Bonding

Beyond Abuser and Victim

Partners who associate love and intimacy with the painful family dynamics of their formative years can get stuck in a familiar bond that’s hard to shake... Read more

Supercharging Couples Work with Ketamine

A Doorway to Greater Intimacy

The combination of therapeutic guides, ketamine, and community can open the door to deep, long-lasting relational change. Read more

Celebrating Sue Johnson

A Tribute to a Leading Force in the Field

Psychotherapy Networker honors the memory of Sue Johnson, EFT and EFIT pioneer, with highlights from her trailblazing career. Read more

What is Betrayal Blindness?

Dr. Ramani on Survivors of Narcissistic Abuse

Watch this clip of Dr. Ramani explaining what betrayal blindness looks like in relationships impacted by narcissistic abuse. Read more

Ending a Marriage That's Already Over

Helping Women Move Beyond the Paralysis of Guilt

The person burdened with the decision of whether or not to end a marriage may not be the one who’s already left the marriage—emotionally or sexually. Read more

The Gottmans on How to Fight Right

Conflict is a Human Constant

From their new book, Fight Right, relationship experts John and Julie Gottman explain why some couples conflict will never go away. Read more

So, You Want to be a Couples Therapist?

Getting Started in Couples Counseling

An experienced clinician shares how emerging therapists can get started in couples therapy. Read more

Helping Couples Ask for What They Want

Communication in Couples Counseling

A therapist explains why it's so hard for partners to ask for what they need and how couples counseling can help. Read more

Shame and Blame in Couples Therapy

A Therapist's Misstep Sparks Repair

A clinical rupture becomes an opportunity to help a couple move beyond the pursue-withdraw cycle. Read more

Organizational Management at Home

An Interview with Eve Rodsky on Workplace Tools for Couples

The business world has well-honed tools for making sure employees feel valued and fulfilled. Can they be used to solve a core issue that brings many couples to... Read more

Work Issues at the Heart of Couples' Conflicts

Exploring Our Relationships with Our Jobs

The move beyond “Where do you work?” “How much do you work?” and “How’s it going?” is long overdue in couples therapy. Read more

Practice Tools: November/December 2023

The best from across the field of psychotherapy . . . on us!

This month’s selection is from Alexandra Solomon’s, Love Every Day: 365 Relationship Self-Awareness Practices to Help Your Relationship Heal, Grow and... Read more

The Pursuer–Withdrawer Sexual Dynamic

Addressing the Three Threads of Attachment

What if we viewed differences in how much two partners want sex as an attachment issue, not one of desire? Read more

Tuning into the Body in Couples Work

Getting to the Root of Core Conflicts

Integrating a somatic focus into couples therapy can help partners address their deeply entrenched stuck points. Read more

The Art of Dating Your Ex

A Therapist Finds Love Where She Least Expects It
Alissa Hirshfeld

What would you do differently if you could rekindle love with your ex? Read more

Igniting the Spark

You Don’t Have to be a Sex Therapist to Treat Low Desire

You don't have to be a sex therapist to help your clients with diminished sexual desire. Read more

Exploring Consensual Nonmonogamy

How to Help Couples Avoid Pitfalls and Enhance Their Connection

Despite a cultural environment that’s often hostile toward nonmonogamy, an increasing number of couples are considering it. How can therapists help them... Read more

Hunting for Harry

Can a Lost Marriage Be Retrieved?
Campbell Gregson

When losing your spouse in a bookstore helps you find perspective. Read more

A Dog Wanders into My Session

Taking a New Direction in the Therapy Room

A seasoned therapist discovers that the willingness to be a beginner again can sometimes have more value for clients than polished expertise. Read more

When One Partner Is Kinky...

Cracking Open the Conversation

Having an erotic craving that seems shocking to a partner doesn’t have to be a death knell for a relationship. Read more

Rewriting Marriage Contracts

Fresh Options for Ambivalent Couples

The choice for ambivalent couples is no longer binary: separate or stay together. Instead, therapists can help them craft formal yet flexible agreements... Read more

Dating Again in Your 70s

A Couples Therapist Joins Match.com

Even when you've spent your entire career teaching people how to have relationships, finding love is still a risky, humbling, and unpredictable... Read more