Therapists experience the same relationship issues we see in our offices. Although our clinical training may give us more access to our inner emotional lives than many people, we face “occupational hazards,” such as a tendency to read our partner’s mind and then explain it to them. With humility and humor, let’s explore the relational self of the therapist and how we sometimes show up in couple therapy. In this workshop, we’ll learn how to how to help fellow therapists when they come as clients to leverage their personal and professional strengths to have healthier relationships—and avoid blind spots that come with the territory.
In this keynote, we will delve into the transformative realm of Solution-Focused Couples Therapy, exploring the Diamond Approach that unlocks the potential for harmony in relationships. This approach focuses on cultivating positive change, resilience, and effective communication, empowering couples to navigate challenges and deepen their connection. Join us on a journey to discover practical tools and insights that foster understanding, promote emotional intimacy, and pave the way for enduring relationship satisfaction.
In this keynote, we will delve into the transformative realm of Solution-Focused Couples Therapy, exploring the Diamond Approach that unlocks the potential for harmony in relationships. This approach focuses on cultivating positive change, resilience, and effective communication, empowering couples to navigate challenges and deepen their connection. Join us on a journey to discover practical tools and insights that foster understanding, promote emotional intimacy, and pave the way for enduring relationship satisfaction.
As practicing relationship experts we find ourselves steeped in war these days. In styles hot and cold, waring couples seek our advice. Conflict between nations haunts our consciences. Even Nature itself seems to be turning against us as a result of our own virtually suicidal behaviors. Across the globe, Democracy is on the ropes with an alarming resurgence of autocracy, the rise of the most virulent, savage aspects of Patriarchy. As a species, we are at a crossroads. We will trade in the millennial old paradigm of “power over” for a new life based on ecological wisdom, interdependence, or we may bequeath to our children and grandchildren a hot, mean, largely toleration world.
How can we relationship experts stand by in “neutral” silence – when we have something so critical to say, to teach?
As practicing relationship experts we find ourselves steeped in war these days. In styles hot and cold, waring couples seek our advice. Conflict between nations haunts our consciences. Even Nature itself seems to be turning against us as a result of our own virtually suicidal behaviors. Across the globe, Democracy is on the ropes with an alarming resurgence of autocracy, the rise of the most virulent, savage aspects of Patriarchy. As a species, we are at a crossroads. We will trade in the millennial old paradigm of “power over” for a new life based on ecological wisdom, interdependence, or we may bequeath to our children and grandchildren a hot, mean, largely toleration world.
How can we relationship experts stand by in “neutral” silence – when we have something so critical to say, to teach?
As with any approach, couple therapy must have a clear vision toward which the couple can navigate. We may call this the therapeutic goal or therapeutic narrative. The clarity by which the therapist holds this vision and expects the couple to meet this goal largely determines therapeutic success. We might ask the couple before us, “Why are you a couple?” “What’s the point of your relationship?” “Who or what do you both serve?” Most partners will say, “We love each other,” or, “We have children,” or, “We have similar things in common.” This speech focuses on what predicts long term success in adult romantic relationships. We will discuss how purpose and shared vision sets the stage for meaningful, long-lasting relationships, and how a lack of purpose, shared meaning, and shared principles of governance (guardrails that protect partners from each other) is a predictor of accumulated, psychobiological threat and eventual dissolution.
As with any approach, couple therapy must have a clear vision toward which the couple can navigate. We may call this the therapeutic goal or therapeutic narrative. The clarity by which the therapist holds this vision and expects the couple to meet this goal largely determines therapeutic success. We might ask the couple before us, “Why are you a couple?” “What’s the point of your relationship?” “Who or what do you both serve?” Most partners will say, “We love each other,” or, “We have children,” or, “We have similar things in common.” This speech focuses on what predicts long term success in adult romantic relationships. We will discuss how purpose and shared vision sets the stage for meaningful, long-lasting relationships, and how a lack of purpose, shared meaning, and shared principles of governance (guardrails that protect partners from each other) is a predictor of accumulated, psychobiological threat and eventual dissolution.
Relational Life Therapy, (RLT) specializes in couples on the brink no one else has been able to help. We produce deep, lasting change quickly by helping our clients step into a new world. We offer a map for a new way to live and a practical toolbox to realize it. Our clients move beyond the individualistic patriarchal mores we’ve all grown up with to discover the ecological wisdom of relationship, interconnectedness. This is not pie in the sky idealism but rather a practical “relational technology” that can effectively equip our clients to create and sustain the lifelong lover relationships we now long for.
Couples first learn to think relationally – which is itself transformative. For example, the relational answer to the question: “Who’s right and who’s wrong?” Is: ‘Who cares?” What matters is: “How do we face the issue at hand in a way that works for both of us?”
Relational Life Therapy, (RLT) specializes in couples on the brink no one else has been able to help. We produce deep, lasting change quickly by helping our clients step into a new world. We offer a map for a new way to live and a practical toolbox to realize it. Our clients move beyond the individualistic patriarchal mores we’ve all grown up with to discover the ecological wisdom of relationship, interconnectedness. This is not pie in the sky idealism but rather a practical “relational technology” that can effectively equip our clients to create and sustain the lifelong lover relationships we now long for.
Couples first learn to think relationally – which is itself transformative. For example, the relational answer to the question: “Who’s right and who’s wrong?” Is: ‘Who cares?” What matters is: “How do we face the issue at hand in a way that works for both of us?”
Dr. Giammattei will present the underlying framework that therapists who work with transgender or gender-expansive (TGE) couples need to understand to provide gender-affirming treatment. He will share ways to explore your own hetero/cis-normative beliefs around coupling and how these influence the models you choose, the questions you ask, and the interventions you use. While TGE couples experience many of the same issues as other couples, we will explore the minority stress and unique stressors that impact these issues in profound ways. Dr. Giammattei will use experiential exercises and clinical vignettes to discover and utilize the basics of the gender-affirming approach to couple therapy.
Regardless of the model of couple therapy used, being a gender-affirming couples therapist requires both an understanding of your own gender narratives, the hetero/cisnormativity in your models, as well as the key issues that may impact couples where one or more partners is TGE.