Couples Therapy Based on Transgenerational Model and the Passionate Marriage
Autor: viki • June 19, 2012 • Research Paper • 1,953 Words (8 Pages) • 2,760 Views
Couples Therapy based on Transgenerational Model and The Passionate Marriage
by David Schnarch, Ph.D.
Couples Therapy based on Transgenerational Model and The Passionate Marriage
by David Schnarch, Ph.D.
Randy Bailey
Theories of Marriage and Family Therapy/MFT 520 2P
Connie Destito
April 10, 2012
Couples Therapy based on Transgenerational Model
After spending the first semester in the ‘here and now' of academic learning about how our minds do and don't work, I can see that I am partial to the feelings model over the scientific of therapeutic approach. All of these ‘feel good' models seem to blend nicely into one another, unlike the scientific models, such as, Behavioral and Cognitive therapy. As I studied the family and couples focus models, I do think that art plays as much of a role as science when it comes to couple's therapy.
The Transgenerational Therapy model stands out for me, working with couples, since the focus of operation tends to use the "wide-angle lens". Writer Laura Giat Roberto explains, "this lens views the symptom bearer in the unique setting of his or her marriage or family" (259). Murray Bowen, James Framo, and Carl Whitaker from the Transgenerational Models in the fifties focused on family systems theory, which explored how the differentiation of self, triangulation, and the phenomenon of being emotionally cutoff plays such a big role in relational patterns that lead to unhappiness, negative discourse, misery, and even a type of marital sadism. Bowenian therapy specifically is the process that looks at "patterns of emotional reactivity, structure, and interlocking triangulation" (Nichols, 2006, p.126).
A favorite type of couple's therapy is practiced by David Schnarch, Ph.D. who defines differentiation as ‘holding onto yourself' or not letting your anxiety run your life, and staying non-reactive. In his book The Passion Marriage, Schnarch explores the complexities of keeping love and intimacy alive with couples that are either in trouble or are both looking to transcend some of the familiar ‘stuckness' that pervades the marital sandbox. Schnarch uses many examples where couples come to him in an "emotional gridlock" from developing dysfunctional patterns. These patterns originate from past experiences and get replayed in the partnership,
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