Does attachment theory 'add value' to the practice of couple psychotherapy?
Couple psychotherapists must select from a range of conceptual narratives
to inform their work. Their selection will be influenced by the training they
have received and by what they find helpful in their practice. This seminar
will propose ways in which attachment theory 'adds value' to the practice of
couple psychotherapy. Linking mirroring processes in child development with
what takes place between partners and in relation to their therapists it will
focus on familiar themes from an attachment perspective, and ask whether and
in what ways this perspective helps shape therapeutic process and build an
evidence base for clinical conviction. The seminar will:
highlight key aspects
of attachment theory that can inform practice
suggest ways in which
attachment-based child development research is relevant to understanding
couple relationships
and therapeutic process
apply an attachment perspective
to thinking about clinical practice with a couple
This session will aim to give delegates a fuller understanding of the complexity
of infidelity in today's society as well as some thoughts and strategies for
helping individuals and couples recover from betrayal. The session will begin
by looking at the many different types of infidelity including internet liaisons,
non-sexual emotional relationships and same-sex experiences. The impact on
the individuals and on the couple relationship will be explored in the light
of the multiple dimensions of the affair such as how long the affair lasted,
the depth of emotional involvement, the amount of deceit involved and the perceived
threat to the relationship. There will then be time to look at some of the
unconscious reasons why people stray and what unconscious role the affair may
be playing within the couple relationship and particularly how this may be
played out in the therapy room as the therapist becomes another third person
within the couple dynamic. The session will end with some suggestions for helping
individuals and couples recover from betrayal, including the role of forgiveness
and strategies for rebuilding trust.
Attachment, gender and communication in couple relationships
Many couples seek help because they are having trouble communicating with
each other. Popular culture represents women and men as coming from different
planets when it comes to communication. But is gender the key to communication
problems, or are there other ways in which these problems might be understood?
This lecture will consider communication difficulties in partnerships from
psycho-linguistic and attachment perspectives. Using literature and clinical
example it will explore the role that anxiety plays in shaping communication
and consider the implications for therapeutic practice. The lecture will:
contrast
psycho-linguistic and attachment explanations for communication problems
between women and
men
summarise
what attachment research offers therapists in attending to how people speak
about their
experiences as compared with what they say
illustrate
the different ways language can be used by couples in the consulting room
consider
implications for therapeutic practice.
Biographies
Christopher Clulow
Dr Christopher Clulow was Director of the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships, London, until July 2006, when he retired to practice as a couple psychotherapist,
teacher and researcher. He has 30 years' experience of working psychoanalytically
with couples, is a full member of the Society of Couple Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists
and a General Member of the British Association of Sexual and Relationship
Therapists. He is Therapies Editor of the international journal Sexual and
Relationship Therapy and on the editorial advisory board of the Journal
of Social Work Practice. For eight years he chaired the International Commission
on Couple and Family Relations, and he is President of Hertfordshire Central
Relate. He has published extensively on working with couples undergoing change,
and about marriage and family life. His books for practitioners include To
have and to hold: marriage, the first baby and preparing couples for parenthood,
Marital therapy: an inside view, and with Christopher Vincent, In the
child's best interests? Divorce court welfare and the search for a settlement.
More generally, he co-authored Marriage inside out: understanding problems
of intimacy (1989) and edited Marriage, disillusion and hope (1990), rethinking
marriage (1993), Women, men and marriage (1995),and Partners
becoming parents (1996).His most recent book is Adult attachment
and couple psychotherapy: the secure base in practice and research.
Paula Hall
Paula Hall is a UKCP registered sexual and relationship psychotherapist. She
is also accredited with BACP and BASRT (British Association of Sexual and Relationship
Therapy). She has worked for Relate for the past 12 years as a couple counsellor,
psychosexual therapist, young people's counsellor and most recently as a family
counsellor. She also works in private practise and provides an online therapy
service. As a member of the Relate media team she is regularly asked to comment
on television, radio and in the national press on relationship issues and in
particularly on the changing nature of relationships in today's society.
