What, from a psychoanalytic point of view, constitute the facts of life ? What are the stories that our professional mentors tell us about the psychological equivalents of the birds and the bees ? How useful are these stories, and in what ways do they help those of us who work with couples understand and change the sexual difficulties that they present us with? Do these stories, indeed, have anything to say about sex, or might they, like the inventions of embarrassed parents, deflect our attention away from what we really need to know in relating to the sexual lives of our patients?This book explores sexuality in the contexts of couple relationships and psychotherapy. It presents a range of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic perspectives from which problematic sexual experience that is, sexual experience that has troubled couples sufficiently for them to seek outside help might be understood and worked with. Rooted in clinical practice the book assembles a rich diversity of approaches that will interest anyone wanting to learn more about the affective dimensions of sexual experience and seeking to apply this in their work with couples. The contributors are all closely associated with the Tavistock Centre of Couple Relationships, either as staff, neighbouring colleagues at the Tavistock and Portman Clinics, or through its professional association, the Society of Couple Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists."

A new edition of a classic text This new edition of Human Development has been thoroughly revised and updated to incorporate recent developments in the field. New material is introduced on the development of a sense of self, the social self and moral development. Beginning with a discussion of birth and childhood, the reader is lead through each of the crucial stages in human development. The authors reveal the intricate interplay between physical, emotional and psychological factors that contribute to the individual patterns of development that make each of us unique. All of the major milestones of life are covered, including adolescence, work, parenthood and old age. Employing psychoanalytic theories of development, this book reveals the richness that these ideas bring to well-known everyday phenomena. This highly accessible and jargon-free introduction to human development combines scientific objectivity with a sensitive and sympathetic approach to the subject. It will prove invaluable to anyone involved in the helping professions.

This book is a challenge to the silos in our human services that an 'atomised' focus gives rise to. They are evident in the chasm that can exist between child and adult mental health care, between competing therapeutic approaches and, most importantly for this volume, in the segmentation of support for adults who are partners as well as parents. The contributors, all with substantial experience of providing front-line services, identify the problem their intervention is designed to address, provide a conceptual justification for the approach they have used and supply evidence for its effectiveness. Vivid illustrations bring the work to life and provide examples of best practice whose relevance can readily be transported to different settings. Unusual in bringing together approaches that encompass internal and external realities in responding to the challenges of physical constraint, emotional distress and an often-volatile social environment, the contributions are assembled to highlight a common thread that can inform services at different stages of the life course. Each chapter is accompanied by a commentary from specialists in their field who elucidate and critique the key points made by the authors and help the experience of reading the book to be one of dialogue. Engaging Couples: New Directions in Therapeutic in Work with Families explores new ways of approaching some of the key issues of contemporary family life, including depression, living with long-term conditions, inter-parental conflict and domestic abuse to name but a few, refracting them through a lens that sees our relationships as fundamental to the fabric of our lives - the most important social capital of all. It represents essential reading for clinicians and family practitioners of all persuasions, and those that train and support them in their work.

The contributors to this book have drawn on different mentors to provide a framework for understanding the sexual problems of the couples they see, and to inform the work they do. But whether Freud, Jung, Klein or Bowlby has been the progenitor of their own particular therapeutic narrative, the spirit of enquiry and curiosity is evident in their ap

Christopher Clulow examines the connections between partnership and parenthood, focusing on the parents as partners, as well as parents, and on the child. It examines how children change the relationship between their parents, and what relevance the couple's relationship has for healthy child development.

A thought provoking collection of articles which will succeed at encouraging the reader to rethink marriage.'This book brings together a group of specialists who attempt to describe the process of interaction between the inner and personal and the outer and social. They illustrate what is happening to current marriage, particularly in its daily intimate experience. They do not attmpt to offer expert solutions. They describe practice as they see it.This book is a valuable study to help the clarification of the complex world of contemporary marriage, particularly as it stresses the dynamic aspects of the marital relationship which are the key to its present aspirations. It is a study which informs both the expert and the lay reader, helping to make sense of the necessary diverse realities which make up marriage today.' - from the Foreword by Jack Dominian.

This book is a challenge to the silos in our human services that an 'atomised' focus gives rise to. They are evident in the chasm that can exist between child and adult mental health care, between competing therapeutic approaches and, most importantly for this volume, in the segmentation of support for adults who are partners as well as parents. The contributors, all with substantial experience of providing front-line services, identify the problem their intervention is designed to address, provide a conceptual justification for the approach they have used and supply evidence for its effectiveness. Vivid illustrations bring the work to life and provide examples of best practice whose relevance can readily be transported to different settings. Unusual in bringing together approaches that encompass internal and external realities in responding to the challenges of physical constraint, emotional distress and an often-volatile social environment, the contributions are assembled to highlight a common thread that can inform services at different stages of the life course. Each chapter is accompanied by a commentary from specialists in their field who elucidate and critique the key points made by the authors and help the experience of reading the book to be one of dialogue. Engaging Couples: New Directions in Therapeutic in Work with Families explores new ways of approaching some of the key issues of contemporary family life, including depression, living with long-term conditions, inter-parental conflict and domestic abuse to name but a few, refracting them through a lens that sees our relationships as fundamental to the fabric of our lives - the most important social capital of all. It represents essential reading for clinicians and family practitioners of all persuasions, and those that train and support them in their work.

Attachment theory has triggered an explosion of research into family relationships, and has provided a conceptual basis for the work of practitioners. Adult Attachment and Couple Psychotherapy brings research and practice perspectives to bear on the adult couple relationship, and provides a framework for assessing and working with secure and insecure partnerships.
Divided into three parts, the book:
* looks at what is meant by secure and insecure attachment in the couple
* describes how theory and research have been applied to practice, and how practice has added to the understanding of the complex problems that couples bring to therapy
* examines the significance of training and the organisation of work for effective practice with couples.
Using vivid illustrations from clinical and community work, Adult Attachment and Couple Psychotherapy offers stimulating reading for all those involved in this field who wish to reassess their models of practice.

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Depression is second after heart disease as the most damaging health condition in the world. The NHS has devoted huge resources to training thousands of psychological therapists to work in 'Improving Access to Psychological Therapies' services specifically to treat depression in adults and couple therapy has been identified as one of the effective ways of treating it. Couple Therapy for Depression is an integrative 20-session couple therapy designed to treat depression in couples where there is also relationship distress. Following the recommendations of the UK's National Institute for Clinical Excellence for a behaviourally-based couple therapy treatment, it draws on RCT studies of efficacy as well as 'best practice' in behavioural, cognitive, emotionally-focused, systemic, and psychodynamic couple therapies. Sticking closely to the competencies identified for the treatment of depression and relationship distress in couples, it outlines the ways in which couple therapists can reduce damaging interactions between couples, build emotional openness and closeness, improve communication and behaviour, change unhelpful cognitions and perceptions, and help the couple cope with the ordinary and not-so ordinary stresses that arise in the course of everyday relating. Written by couple therapists who understand deeply the unique challenges of doing therapy with couples, it is based on the training programme for Couple Therapy for Depression commissioned by the NHS for use in its Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services. It begins by describing the causes and consequences of depression, and then focuses on its impact on the adult couple. Highlighting the particular techniques needed in safe and effective work with distressed couples, it goes through the different ways in which the couple's feelings, thoughts, and behaviours need to be understood and worked with in order to reduce relationship distress. It outlines the treatment of 4 different couples to illustrate the therapy in action and will be helpful for any therapist wanting to enhance their work with couples.