Tatkin presents the use of structured “therapeutic containers”—exercises designed to elicit real-time couple dynamics and clarify treatment goals. These scenarios, often playful or stress-inducing, allow therapists to assess regulation, secure functioning, and communication. Grounded in PACT, this approach blends psychodrama, attachment theory, and strategic role-play to surface implicit behaviors and refine therapeutic direction.
This workshop explores how social-emotional deficits like alexithymia, affect blindness, and poor theory of mind disrupt co-regulation and erode relational security. Tatkin offers practical tools for assessing such deficits, distinguishing them from defenses, and guiding couples toward clearer emotional signaling, mutual understanding, and more accurate attribution under stress.