Learn how to help couples to navigate and resolve the spiritual themes present in marriage Statistically speaking, about half of all first marriages fail. The Spiritual Work of Marriage comprehensively discusses an issue that is central to addressing committed relationships and intimacy-the difficult, and yet very common, spiritual work that exists within marriage. This insightful guide goes deeper into ways to improve marital intimacy by explaining its spiritual dimension and describing a variety of spiritual themes that every couple deals with and must resolve. The book contains practical case study material, questions for group discussion, and a series of spiritual and theological theories tied to powerful marital dynamics. Author Dr. David Olsen, certified pastoral counselor and certified marriage and family therapist, explains approaches that every counselor can use when attempting to help couples navigate and work through marital intimacy and spiritual issues. The Spiritual Work of Marriage boldly and sensitively examines the themes of acceptance, working through idolatry, the longing for redemption from old family issues, and the necessity of repentance. Topics discussed in The Spiritual Work of Marriage include: marriage as spiritual crucible acceptance as a key element in spirituality and recovery idolatry as something that clocks acceptance redemption from old wounds repentance as a mental concept the complexity of forgiveness in marriage the possibility of salvation in marriage The Spiritual Work of Marriage is an essential resource for pastoral counselors, clergy, seminary professors teaching pastoral care, and marriage and family therapists interested in spirituality.

Pastoral counselors, therapists-in-training, and clergy are usually introduced to one method of family assessment and treatment, which works better in some situations than in others. Integrative Family Therapy introduces the major schools of family therapy, proposes a tested model that integrates the various approaches, and illustrates how this model functions both for assessing and treating family problems. Seven central concepts are discerned as a way of understanding the various family therapies as a group. Then the major family therapy theories are discussed, including cognitive, family life cycle-developmental, interactional-communication, multigenerational, object relations, problem solving, and structural family. After examining their deep structures, an integrated model of six discrete moments is presented and illustrated. Charts direct the reader through the model and illustrate how the model is employed by means of several case studies.

Learn how to help couples to navigate and resolve the spiritual themes present in marriage Statistically speaking, about half of all first marriages fail. The Spiritual Work of Marriage comprehensively discusses an issue that is central to addressing committed relationships and intimacy-the difficult, and yet very common, spiritual work that exists within marriage. This insightful guide goes deeper into ways to improve marital intimacy by explaining its spiritual dimension and describing a variety of spiritual themes that every couple deals with and must resolve. The book contains practical case study material, questions for group discussion, and a series of spiritual and theological theories tied to powerful marital dynamics. Author Dr. David Olsen, certified pastoral counselor and certified marriage and family therapist, explains approaches that every counselor can use when attempting to help couples navigate and work through marital intimacy and spiritual issues. The Spiritual Work of Marriage boldly and sensitively examines the themes of acceptance, working through idolatry, the longing for redemption from old family issues, and the necessity of repentance. Topics discussed in The Spiritual Work of Marriage include: marriage as spiritual crucible acceptance as a key element in spirituality and recovery idolatry as something that clocks acceptance redemption from old wounds repentance as a mental concept the complexity of forgiveness in marriage the possibility of salvation in marriage The Spiritual Work of Marriage is an essential resource for pastoral counselors, clergy, seminary professors teaching pastoral care, and marriage and family therapists interested in spirituality.