Couples therapy: Methods couples therapists use during relationship therapy
BOSTON — Marriage and family difficulties account for about half of all visits to psychotherapists, and most therapists who specialize in family therapy work chiefly with couples. The therapist helps the couple work on eliminating mutual misunderstandings, unreasonable expectations, and unstated assumptions that perpetuate conflict, explains the March 2007 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter.
Couples Therapists
Couples therapists make little use of psychiatric diagnosis, but they do use many of the same methods employed by therapists who work with individuals: interpreting emotional conflicts and the influence of the past; assigning exercises for behavior change; challenging beliefs; offering advice and support; and teaching social skills and problem solving.
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