Content
This program provides participants with a solid grounding in the skills required to work more directly with emotion in psychotherapy with couples. In order to provide some degree of experiential training participants will be asked to script another member as a relational partner and we will work in this manner with each persons couple patterns. The training program will begin with a theoretical discussion of the role of emotion and emotional awareness in function and dysfunction in couples. The importance of working with amygdala based emotion in therapy will be emphasized.
The principles of emotionally focused couples work will be presented. We will look at ways for dealing with affect regulation in marriage especially in relation to power and identity issues and emotional injuries that lead to depression. The role of the emotions of shame and anger related to threats to identity, status or power central in depression in couples will be addressed in addition to the emotions of fear and anxiety, related to abandonment fears and loss and threats to attachment security. We will look at how to access adaptive emotions, such as sadness at loss and empowering anger at violation. This leads to a change in self-other narratives and interaction.
Tapes of how to work in couple therapy with the emotions related to, intimacy and attachment, power and identity, to transform vicious cycles into virtuous ones will be discussed.
