Couples often enter therapy feeling stuck in perpetual conflict. Lacking the skills to discuss their underlying concerns around a given topic, partners can quickly become stalled in defensiveness, resistance, and resentment. In this video, Susan Heitler and Abigail Hirsch, founders of the “Power of 2” approach to couples therapy, demonstrate how four refreshing communication tools can turn frustrating arguments into a creative decision-making process that satisfies both partners.
Dan and Sam have a 10-year marriage and two children; Tim and Terry have been engaged for six months. Even seemingly innocuous conversations—like where to spend a vacation or what to do for dinner—are fraught with perplexing traps that increase tension and shut down dialogue. Both couples have come to the Power of 2 workshop to understand how to engage in a way that dissolves, rather than reinforces, relational conflict.
Through a series of structured yet lively exercises, Hirsch helps the couples uncover their reactive responses and establish the safety needed to raise sensitive issues. Over the course of the workshop, the couples learn to state their needs directly, listen receptively, keep the conversation moving forward, and collaborate effectively on joint decisions. They end the day impressed, energized, and more hopeful than they thought was possible.
This video is a must for therapists looking to expand their couples therapy repertoire as well as for those interested in running workshops for couples.
