Content
In this first session of two, Dr. Rhonda N. Goldman applies an emotion-focused therapy approach to marriage counseling for an African American married couple who present with relational conflict due to different communication styles and preferences. The central areas of conflict are finances, communication, and family issues. The couple shares that they have been married for about nine years and have a blended family--six children in total ranging from one- to eleven years old. After learning about the couple's family background, Goldman has the two individually and jointly share incidents that have occurred to provide examples of frustration, hurt, distrust, and miscommunication between the two. They also share ways that they have tried to learn to listen to their partner's concerns and needs. A majority of the session deals with the clients' ability to express and accept love for and from one another. Throughout the session, Goldman explicitly highlights the intentions, feelings, and underlying needs and wants and the subsequent impact that underlie the interactions between the wife and husband. At the end of session, Goldman summarizes her understanding and previews what work can be done in the next session.
