Clinical Placements and Schedule Updates

Schedule and Assignments

• The schedule is changing to include Couple Therapy and remaining Eating Disorder topics next week
• Next week's lecture will be pre-recorded due to travel
• The recording and Blueprint should be available by Saturday
• A test is coming up, using the same format as before
• The class average on the last test was in the 90s
• Email is the best way to reach out with questions

Clinical Placements

• Students should submit preceptor forms for the next semester
• Those staying with their current preceptor should inform the instructor
• Students staying at the same site should still complete a form, copying the previous semester's form and updating the dates
• Students at the same site for two consecutive clinicals should consider a change unless it's a dynamic setting like an ER
• Experiencing various prescribers and settings will provide better post-graduation clarity
• February 28th is the deadline for form submissions
• After the deadline, those without submitted forms will be contacted
• Students should try to find their own preceptor
• Assistance with placements will begin at the end of February/start of March
• Students finishing their last semester are encouraged to build connections

Summer Session Information

• Only one section of D&T 3 is being offered this summer & D&T 1 for newbies
• There is contemplation on adjucnt clinical coureses
• The paper due date is February 19th

Couples Therapy Basics

• Couples therapy is psychotherapy designed to help couples understand, resolve conflicts, and improve relationships
• Therapy focuses on improving communication, emotional connection, and addressing conflicts
• Ideal therapy times are when issues begin or during separation feelings
• Early therapy is better and therapists shouldn't wait until it's too late
• It aims to repair relationships, reestablish communication and intimacy, and teach problem-solving for future conflicts

Evolution of Couples Therapy

• Couples Therapy evolved from psychoanalytical roots into family therapy models
• Attachment theory, and relationship dynamics are key components
• Gottman's work focuses on relationship dynamics, how the relationship works, and the different actions and roles that everyone plays within it

Therapeutic Models

• Psychodynamic therapy focuses on unresolved internal conflicts affecting present relationships, stemming from childhood issues
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT changing maladaptive thought patterns and behaviors and alternate communication
• Humanistic existential emphasizing emotional self-awareness and personal responsibility, and internal dynamics

Systemic Approach

• The systemic view sees the couple as part of a larger system
• Individual behavior is shaped by family and social dynamics
• Individuals are byproducts of their upbringing
• Breaking negative cycles stemming from one's upbringing can support
• Communication problems are among the main issues addressed in therapy

Techniques

• Using "I statements" promotes ownership and active listening
• Active listening helps couples identify their conflict styles
• Strategies involves resolving disagreement
• Therapists should help couples identify conflict styles
• This included are partners avoidant, confrontational or compromising
• Strategies resolve disagreements

Common Issues Addressed in Couples Therapy

• These are included with intimacy and sexual issues, involving mismatched sexual drives or unresolved sexual trauma
• Couples therapy provides a judgment-free, safe space
• Financial conflicts such as those made with married couples who own property together can be an open arena
• Parenting conflicts are huge, specifically with parents not on the same page and being played against one another by children
• Rebuilding trust after infidelity is also a key component

Therapist's Role

• Therapists act as neutral mediators to identify hidden dynamics
• Surface issues may mask deeper problems, requiring therapists to dig deep over time
• Therapists uncover underlying issues like control or dependency and setting healthy boundaries
• The can address codependency and attachment insecurities

Techniques that Support Couples Therapy

• Encourage couples to build building love maps and learning detailed knowledge of each other's worlds
• Teaching techniques handle conflict in a respectful manners

Goals of Couples Therapy

• Creating shared meanings, like shared goals, rituals and values can be created
• Couples therapy supports teamwork
• It's goal is to change negative thoughts or behaviors

Therapeutic Approaches and Tools

• Imago Relationship Therapy addresses unresolved childhood wounds in adult relationships and the subconscious mirroring of childhood dynamics
• The Diaptic Adjustment Scale measures relationship quality and satisfaction
• The Gottman Relationship Checkup assesses strengths and challenges
• The Communication Pattern Questionnaire assesses communication patterns to predict future problems
• The Five Love Languages Quiz identifies how partners best receive and express love

Stages of Therapy

• The stages are structured like stages in Group Therapy
• The first involves assessment and setting goals by using questionnaires
• Reviewing the relationships history, individual backgrounds, and key issues of both parties are reviewed

Conflict Resolution Phase

• Therapists give support and utilize teaching tools to enable conflict solution
• The "here and now" in therapy sessions is about real time mediation
• Catching behaviors early to promote teachable moments and affirmations are beneficial
• Waiting to bring up topics later prevents the original teachable moment effect
• Building positive interaction
• Planning date nights and coming up with shared activities are the next level from the conflict phase.

Maintenance and Relapse Prevention

• As the couple progresses, maintenance involves building coping mechanisms and skills to maintain relationship improvements long term
• Couples should integrate the therapeutic intervention into carrying that learning with them

Continued Support

• Booster sessions or check-ins are an option for those in either Couples or individual therapy
• Quarterly check-ins and options for emergency session
• Follow ups after medication management
• Follow-ups are beneficial
• Underlying trauma and possible significant sexual abuse are considered