Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills for "High Conflict" Couples
Location
Sessions held in Chelmsford, Essex
Purpose
The overall objective of this programme is teach specific skills to couples, married or living with each other, whose relationships can be described as in a state of "high conflict"; that is, couples for whom angry feelings and angry expression has become the corrosive norm in their lives together.
In this course I bring together and adapt powerful techniques of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), from the work of Dr. Marsha Linehan, with principles of couples and family interventions from a range of specialists in the field of Couples and Relationships Therapy, in particlular the ideas developed by Dr Alan Fruzetti
Intendend Results
In the DBT skills for "High Conflict" Couples programme you will:
- Learn to stop long-standing patterns of destructive conflict
- Develop the skills to manage your negative emotions and destructive urges
- Learn how to talk and listen in ways that lead to understanding, validation, negotiation and closeness
- Learn how to bring up issues with each other in ways which are non-aggressive, descriptive and clear
- Discover how, when problems can't be solved right away, to continue to disagree in a constructive way, enabling you to tolerate the disagreement and enjoy each other in other situations; bringing you closer as a couple and increasing mutual understanding and smoothing out the bumps in your relationship
- Learn to manage your emotions effectively in order to promote better communication, foster love and closeness, and solve problems
- Experience a big difference in the quality of your interactions and the quality of your life
- Transform conflict into closeness and acceptance with the person you love the most.
Structure
The DBT for High Conflict Couples course is structured :
| Module | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 | Understanding Emotion in Relationships |
| 2 | Accepting Yourself and Your Partner |
| 3 | How to Stop Making Things Worse |
| 4 | Being "Together" When You Are Together |
| 5 | Reactivating Your Relationship |
| 6 | Accurate Expression |
| 7 | Validating Responses: What to Validate and Why |
| 8 | Validating Responses: How to Validate Your Partner |
| 9 | Recovering from Invalidation |
| 10 | Managing Problems and Negotiating Solutions |
| 11 | Transforming Conflict into Closeness |
Clients contract for an initial 11 sessions with an option to renew at the end of the skills cycle.
"The patient, intelligent and knowledgeable way you worked out and guided our behaviour was enlightening and has changed our lives. It has been miraculous. We will be forever grateful to you."