Couples often struggle in therapy with having too many issues to tackle in too little time. Luckily, you can help couples design their own treatment plan—right from the first session. In this workshop, learn a collaborative process to help couples decide together whether and when to work on making changes in the here and now, or focus on healing wounds from the past, or explore family-of-origin dynamics. This model gives couples ownership of “their” therapy, rather than requiring them to submit to a therapist’s agenda. We’ll discover how to:

• Help couples develop a collaborative plan for treatment in the first interview
• Offer couples a variety of techniques to work on communication, behavior changes, problem solving, and sexual intimacy
• Provide an amends-and-forgiveness protocol for resolving past wounds from issues like infidelity, substance abuse, and betrayal
• Offer clients a focused approach to working on family-of-origin dynamics that shaped their development as a couple

David Treadway, PhD, is a therapist and trainer of 40 years. His upcoming book is Treating Couples Well: A Practical Guide to Collaborative Couple Therapy. He’s also the author of Home Before Dark: A Family Portrait of Cancer and Healing and three other books.

Note: This workshop is available as self-study credit.