Couples Counseling: A Step by Step Guide for Therapists

I am a MSW in private practice, and like most graduate level counseling programs, my schooling did not cover the essentials of couples counseling very thoroughly. I felt ill prepared to see couples upon graduation, and was terrified at the thought of treating couples when I entered the world of private practice. This book does exactly as the cover states ... it is literally a step by step guide - covering the initial phone contact, session by session outlines, all the way through termination. Within each chapter, the author includes sample session dialogue with a vignette couple that she uses to illustrate her concepts throughout the book. She offers various approaches and problem solving techniques when the therapist may encounter a resistant or argumentative spouse, an array of presenting problems, a significant other who attempts to "fire" the therapist, and more. I learned more about couples from this book than I did in 6 years of higher education and two internships. Not to mention, the couples I treat also love the activities and content that we cover in session, which are all derived from this book. I have seen amazing outcomes in the couples I've worked with following this guide. This is a must have!!

I love this book! I recently moved to private practice and got flooded with couples, this helps me structure my sessions! Thank you for writing this book!

Pretty good guide if you are doing couples therapy for the first time. You however do need to incorporate other things and the sessions do not go as smoothly as mentioned depending on the type of couple you are dealing with. Most of therapy books are written for very simple cases, however, you will not end up having a vanilla patient/couple. I am a psychiatry resident physician.

This was the perfect starter guide for a therapist looking to expand into couples work. I really like the layout of a session-by-session structure, and I particularly appreciate how concrete the examples are. The whole book is heavy on "real talk" - demonstrating realistically how a couples session may go awry or into unexpected places, and how to handle it when (not if) this happens. The author gives solid guidance on how to assess for major red flags (abuse, etc.) and how to constructively handle conversations around hot topics such as jealousy, parenting, and sex. I never thought I wanted to work with couples and I was intimidated by the thought of trying. I'm starting to see couples now and this book had a big hand in giving me the confidence to do so. This book is extremely helpful in laying out a structure for beginning therapists to use as they are getting, and I would highly recommend it even for counselors who think they don't want to do couples counseling! This book might just change your mind.

I'll have to say as a new counselor in the mental health world (registered clinical social worker), by the time I reached chapter 5, I'd felt more than prepared to hold my own ground in couples counseling. This book really breaks down step-by-step on how to conduct a typical session with your clients. Okay, so not every session is going to turn out the way the book explain or "picture perfect", but it gives you ways to think creatively on your own on how to handle complex situations relating to couples counseling. I had my first couples counseling and I didn't feel confident from the very first session because I was lost for words. As a result that didn't last long for me. Now that I read this book, if I had to do it again, I would be more than prepared to empower the couples that walks into my office. I would recommend this book to any new therapist aka novice therapist like myself or any therapist for that matter to read this book as a good starting point. I promise it's worth buying.

This book was amazing for me. I was given a couple to work with no experience or guidance (I specialize in children). I was so nervous and did not have any idea where to begin. I ordered this book and it was like a miracle. its not overwhelming to read , broken down session by session, and gives you real session scenarios. I was able to take the things given from this book and really help make a difference in my couples life. This book really built my confidence up as a therapist . I would advise to read the whole book before working with a couple and not one session at a time because when couples come to you with a crisis you should be prepared for it. Ex. If the session for the day is about communication but they just had a huge argument about trust you don't want to be thrown off course because you didn't read that session yet!

I like how this book is organized and the language is simple and down-to-earth. However, in just the first 15 pages or so, I've found 3 grammatical errors already. It almost seems like this wasn't proofread at all!

This book is great both for novice and experienced counselors alike. Doing couple's counseling is definitely NOT the same as doing individual therapy, and Marina eloquently points out the differences (and of course, the similarities). The chapters are neatly divided into session 1 - 10, and it gives you a good step-by-step guidance, while still leaving you to use your clinical skills. I highly recommend this book to any therapist that plans on doing couple's counseling.

A lot to learn and it’s easily adaptable to practice

Even though this book is nearly 10 years old, it still delivers a very robust approach to Couples/Relationship counselling. This interesting approach is taken from the three giants of therapy; Ellis, Gottman, and Hendrix. This saves a lot of time in research and comparative studies, keeping the practitioner clear of 'reinventing the wheel'. Why do that when Marina Williams has clearly done a lot of work in the systematic approach of a step by step guide to Couple counselling? It's prudent to read the text from cover to cover to get the lay of the land, and then re-read whilst taking notes. As a Relationship Counsellor/Coach {PhD in Pastoral Counselling USA, and a L8 Diploma in Counselling (Marriage and Relationship) UK} it is refreshing to take another therapists' approach, especially one who utilises REBT, in my opinion, far more methodical and results-oriented than CBT. I use it for both individual and couples counselling with extremely good results; it's logical and clients come to an 'aha' moment quickly. This text will only be of benefit if you're prepared to put in the hard work into studying, and then putting it into practice. Obvious! The only annoyance I have with this text is the poor editing; spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and in some cases the sentence appears incomplete, making it difficult with flow in reading. That's OK, because as the reader is already assumed of above average intelligence, they're able to discern the structure of what is being said... separate of semantics. If you are a Couples counsellor, or contemplating entering into this specialisation, this is the text to devour. A++++++++

A brilliant book from a brilliant and wise author. One of the best books I have read on the subjet. I have bought the rest of his book collection.

This was an outstanding book for my needs. Well structured, easy to read and highly practical. I also appreciate the references for additional reading on the topic.

Great book, would recommend to anyone working with couples in therapy.