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Follow the reasoning in a worked case. Test it in a different situation. Know what to read next.
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Couples and Family Counseling
A reading path through related lessons. Shared lessons can appear in more than one path. View curriculum coverage and limits →
What this path helps you do
- Practice supported here
- Compare relational formulations and model-specific interventions, then examine an interaction sequence and its alternatives.
- Preparation
- Start with systems concepts; retain attention to individual responsibility, power, and safety.
- Where to go further
- Selected approaches do not constitute specialist couples/family training or establish that conjoint work is suitable for a real situation.
Think in family interaction patterns
Distinguish a relational cycle from blaming one family member.
Bowen family systems: triangles & differentiation
Map a triangle and coach a differentiated position.
Structural family therapy: maps & enactments
Develop a structural map from observed interaction.
Strategic family work: interrupting attempted solutions
Identify how attempted solutions maintain a concrete problem.
Gottman couple work: connection, conflict & meaning
Differentiate friendship, conflict, and shared-meaning targets.
Emotion-focused therapy: process, needs & transformation
Differentiate emotional process hypotheses using context and sequence.
Attachment, relationships & developmental hypotheses
Use attachment concepts without diagnosing from a single interaction.
Consent, privacy & the limits of confidentiality
Distinguish informed consent from a one-time signature.
Sexuality, relationships & aging across the lifespan
Discuss sexual wellness and later-life change without imposing assumptions.
Circular questions: seeing a relationship pattern differently
Turn a one-person explanation into a testable interaction sequence.
A first genogram: patterns, questions, and limits
Construct a first family map that separates known information, attributed reports, and open questions.
Independent study support alongside coursework and supervision. Course paths are editorial reading lists, not complete university courses. Find your program’s reading map →