Short-Term Couple Therapy

This unique guide brings together representatives of the major family therapy approaches to demonstrate the nuts and bolts of their brief work with couples. The time- and cost-effective models discussed are explicitly short-term--not long-term on fast forward--and detailed case excerpts and clinical examples highlight how each form of therapy is actually conducted. Noted contributors include Susan Johnson, Philip Guerin, Michael Nichols and Salvador Minuchin, Simon Budman, Andrew Christensen and Neil Jacobson, James Keim, and many others.

'In this comprehensive edited volume, each author spells out treatment planning guidelines, phases of the therapy process, and specific interventions, along with overarching theory ... Students find the text both immediately applicable to cases and theoretically sound. Instructors are helped not just to teach, but also to compare and contrast models succinctly. This book demonstrates the field's much-needed movement toward recognizing couple therapy as a discipline in its own right.' - Brent Bradley, PhD, Graduate Counseling Department, Indiana Wesleyan University'Anyone who has worked with couples who are in enough pain to go to a therapist knows how challenging this work can be. Doing couples work within the reality of today's marketplace is even more challenging. [This book] succeeds in making the challenge seem less daunting ... I highly recommend this book for experienced clinicians who work with couples regardless of whether they have managed care clients ... I consider it a valuable addition to my library.' - Journal of Family Psychotherapy'Donovan's book is a treasure trove of maps, guides, and directions for finding our way through the tricky terrain of couples treatment using brief therapy models ... [The book] repeatedly demonstrates that even within the complex context of brief couple therapy, a powerful therapeutic relationship based on a profound sense of empathy can allow a wide array of approaches to be quite successful.' - Journal of Systemic Therapies

James M. Donovan, PhD, received his undergraduate education at Stanford University and his doctorate from the University of Michigan. A veteran of HMO mental health work, he has served as staff psychologist at Harvard Community Health Plan, now Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, for over 25 years. Dr. Donovan is founder and codirector of the Mental Health Fellowship at Harvard Vanguard and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in Psychology at Harvard Medical School.