Common Complaints in Couple Therapy

Marriage and couple therapists see clients with broken relationships and bonds all the time; those who were once madly in love can grow indifferent, people change, and couples go into sessions feeling depressed, traumatized, and sometimes abused by their partners. Joan Lachkar examines the vicissitudes of love relations by taking into account aspects of aggression, cruelty, sadism, envy, and other primitive defenses lurking in the shadows of love and intimacy. Each chapter revolves around a specific situational conflict, with guidelines and treatment suggestions offered to the therapist. Numerous vignettes and detailed descriptions of theoretical technique, methodology, and diagnostic distinctions are included throughout the book to help readers see theory in action. The theoretical concepts drawn on include psychoanalysis, object relations, self-psychology, attachment theory, DBT, mindfulness, and others, with a heavy emphasis on listening and non-verbal and verbal communication throughout.

Joan Lachkar, PhD, is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice in Sherman Oaks, California. She teaches and practices psychotherapy using a psychodynamic approach. She is the author of numerous publications on marital conflict, is an affiliate member and instructor at the New Center for Psychoanalysis, is a master presenter at numerous conferences, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Emotional Abuse.

1. Complaints and the Art of Listening 2. The Psychodynamics of Complaints: Theoretical Contributions 3. It Takes One to Tango 4. Promises, Promises 5. The Robotic Relationship 6. The Self-Saboteurs 7. A Life of Lies 8. When East Meets West 9. Taking Complaints to the Professional Level 10. Treatment Suggestions and Techniques 11. Closing Thoughts