Strategies for Working Effectively with Couples

A Series of Four Brief Workshops

The goal for this series is to provide basic background for effective couple therapy along with case consultation and support for improving couple therapy skills. A central focus of this series will be to develop a coherent orientation/philosophy for working with couples along with basic couple therapy skills. The orientation/philosophy will provide a reliable framework from which to employ the skills developed to address the various issues couples bring to therapy.

Upon completion of all four workshops, participants will receive 8 continuing education credits.

April 28, 2016 2:30 - 4:30

Session One: Finding Your Orientation

By the end of this session the participants will be able to identify the major contributors to current couple therapy approaches and will have developed an understanding of the history of couple therapy. In addition, participants will be able to explain how the two current, prevailing orientations to couple therapy, attachment and differentiation influence the practice of couple therapy. Each participant will have been offered an opportunity to identify the couple therapy orientation that best suits him/her.

Session Two: Joining

By the end of this session the participants will have developed an understanding of three useful ways of “joining” a couple

May 12, 2016 2:30 - 4:30.

Session Four: Measuring Effectiveness

By the end of this session, participants will be able to identify three useful metrics for determining progress in couple therapy.

June 9, 2016 2:30 - 4:30

Session Three: Why Couples Seek Help

By the end of this session the participants will be able to identify and engage the three basic issues that typically prompt couples to seek therapy and how to begin addressing each.

May 26, 2016 2:30 - 4:30

Workshop Sign Up

Workshop Dates: Four Thursdays. April 28, May 12, May 26 and June 9, 2016

Workshop Times: 2:30 - 4:30 Each Day

Cost: $160.00 for all four workshops.

Location: All workshops will be located in the Camp Hill area. The exact location will depend on the number of participants. You will receive an email by April 23 providing the location.

Workshop Leaders

Jake Thiessen, PhD, LMFT

I have been working with couples for over 35 years. For 15 of those years I was also a full time college professor teaching courses in Marriage and the Family. Although I have an extensive background in basic cognitive-behavioral therapy and a variety of couple communication programs, my primary orientation is existential-experiential. Intimate relationships are living, breathing, dynamic “organisms” that are best seen as constantly evolving. I believe that no single technique can hope to fully address the complexity of what goes on between two people who have committed their lives to each other. Having devoted my professional life to better understanding what makes and what breaks couples, I would like the opportunity to pass along some of what I’ve learned.