Whether a couple is simply in a rut or on the verge of divorce, there are five habits that can turn things around and bring out the absolute best in any relationship. Drawn from years of working with thousands of couples, Elliott Connie explains how these five habits, can transform a relationship in the most amzing ways. Using stories and exercises, Elliott demonstrates how to successfully implement the habits into one's own relationship and experience positive benefits immediately. Elliott Connie is a solution focused therapist with a private practice based in Keller, Texas. Elliott has traveled throughout the United States and Europe, including the UK, Sweden, and Canada, training psychotherapists to work more effectively with couples, and helping couples to build more satisfying relationships. To learn more about Elliott, visit www.elliottspeaks.com.

"This brief volume presents the basic premises of solution building, liberally enriched with examples. This is a remarkable book, the first of its kind, radical in its message, written about couples but also suitable for all manner of referrals."--Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries ìElliott Connie has written a remarkable book. Read it and you will be taken on a journey. If you are new to the world of solution focused brief therapy, beware! This book could capture your heartÖAs Elliott says from the very beginning, solution focused brief therapy is simple, so simple it is really hard to learn. And from this book, if you set out to do so, you could teach yourself how to become a competent solution focused brief therapist. It is all here, laid out clearly, packed with examples from the real world of therapy, repeated and repeated like onion skins, each repetition releasing its own flavour, a variation on a theme, a new understanding of something already known.î Chris Iveson, MA BRIEF London, UK Working with couples presents psychotherapists and counselors with a unique set of challenges, such that many therapists prefer not to work with couples or attempt to avoid it entirely. In the first book written about solution focused therapy (SFT) with couples, author Elliott Connie describes how his use of SFT made working with couples a pleasure rather than a burden. The solution focused approach is one that facilitates cooperation between partners in the creation of an agreed-upon future, rather than merely focusing on the problems that have come to define the relationship. Beginning with a clear explanation of the assumptions and tenets required for the practice of SFT, this book presents a step-by-step breakdown of exactly how to conduct solution building sessions with couples. Each chapter focuses on a different part of the therapeutic process and includes sample dialogues, techniques, and vignettes drawn from the authorís own extensive practice. Readers will feel as though they themselves are going through the therapeutic process with the couples and observing the impact of each step of the process. Numerous exercises and common solution focused questions help readers integrate this new material into their repertoire for immediate use. Key Features: Provides a unique view of couples therapy in action using the solution focused approach Includes actual questions to ask clients, sample dialogues, and sample homework assignments Features examples drawn from actual cases, illustrating techniques used in practice with real couples Presents scales to measure progress and supporting research for the application of solution-focused therapy to couples counseling

A guide for clinicians (both beginner or seasoned professional) to understand the philosophy and practical steps of Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) to maximize their effectiveness with any client, written by two respected and innovative experts in the field. Solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) is a therapeutic approach that focuses on the client’s hoped-for future instead of their ongoing problems. Elliott E. Connie and Adam S. Froerer are the founders of The Solution Focused Universe and are two of the most respected and innovative experts in their field. Together, they have developed the Diamond model—a framework of SFBT skills and tools designed to guide a clinician through each session of therapy—which is one of the biggest innovations in the field of solution focused brief therapy. This is a practical guide for any clinician (beginner or seasoned professional) to understand the philosophy and practical steps of conducting an SFBT session. Among the topics discussed: How to presuppose the best in your client How to trust your client’s capability The stance clinicians should adopt to be effective solution focused practitioners The art of asking meaningful questions The importance of autonomy This book also includes tools to help practitioners implement this approach, including a complete SFBT session with editorial comments that illustrate the thinking that goes into constructing a session, as well as 101 solution focused questions that practitioners can use. Connie and Froerer see their Diamond model as life-changing for all parties involved. They write, “This work is transformative not only for clients but also for you. When you view your clients as capable and strong, it changes you—and how you do your job. Your perceptions directly impact your actions.”

A practical and hopeful guide that teaches you how to ask yourself the right questions in order to create a new vision for your future. What outcome do you want from reading this book? What difference would it make if you could attain it? How would you notice the change it made in your life? The questions we ask ourselves are powerful tools that can change the trajectory of our lives. In this practical and hopeful guide, psychotherapist Elliot Connie and Adam Froerer, teach that getting honest and asking yourself the right questions enables you to create a new vision for your future that is hopeful and full of previously unimagined possibility. Your actions and beliefs will then align with your new vision as you employ the tips, strategies, and practices that can be turned to time and time again in a variety of situations. Using case studies, success stories, and the latest research in the field of SFBT, readers are given the tools, knowledge, and confidence to apply SFBT principles that will shift their perspective, retrain their brain, and change their relationship to their future.

Learn how to take different models of therapy from theory to real world practice Delivering proven therapeutic strategies that can be used immediately by students of marital and family therapy, this text brings 15 modern and postmodern therapy models to life through guiding templates and interviews with master therapists. The text progresses step-by-step through marriage and family essentials, describing in detail the systemic mindset and basic terminology used by the marriage and family therapist. Interviews with such master therapists as Albert Ellis, David V. Keith, and Mariana Martinez—who each provide commentary on a single Case Study—give readers the opportunity to observe different models in action, clarifying theory and practice simultaneously. Instructive templates for each model illuminate the nuts and bolts of the therapy process and help instructors bring content to life, so students can visualize and practice the process. The updated third edition presents new interviews with master therapists, a new case study that reflects the modern-day client, and a section on social justice in each chapter. Also featured in the third edition are links to valuable new websites, recommended reading for in-depth study of each model, and an updated Instructor Manual, Test Bank, and Instructor Chapter PowerPoints. Audio and Video content are also available for chapters focusing on therapy models to dive deeper into practical application, interviews, and role play. New to the Third Edition: New chapters on social justice, teletherapy practices, marriage and family therapy in times of crisis including COVID-19, and the advantages of an accredited program New interviews with master therapists who are evolving the systemic mindset, including an updated Case Study that reflects the contemporary client A section on social justice for each therapy model Audio and video content with interviews, discussions, and role play to enhance learning Key Features: Provides a guiding template for each model from assessment through termination Introduces the theory, history, theoretical assumptions, techniques, and components of each paradigm Delivers numerous interviews, case study commentaries, and analyses by prominent master therapists Provides theory and practice on supervision, research, ethics, and self-care of the therapist

What makes marriages last? What makes couples happy? Is it possible for a so-so marriage to become a great one? From Dr. Terri Orbuch, the renowned therapist and nationally recognized relationship expert known as The Love Doctor®, comes a book that breaks new ground in marital relationships. The head researcher in a large-scale, unprecedented study funded by the National Institutes of Health—which has followed 373 couples for more than twenty-two years and is ongoing—Dr. Orbuch made some remarkable discoveries about happiness, sexuality, human mating patterns, and relationship longevity. In 5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage from Good to Great, she releases the study’s findings to the public in a book for the first time, sharing her insights and never-before-revealed strategies for improving and enhancing your marriage—at every stage. Do you remember the feeling of first being in love? Based on the latest research about what works in happy marriages, Dr. Orbuch offers an accessible, step-by-step roadmap for reconnecting with those feelings and gaining a deeper appreciation for the things you and your spouse share. She defines the five simple strategies to help couples navigate the daily minefield of marriage…from defusing frustrations that erode your relationship to the simple things that will keep your partner happy…from the 10-minute rule to help you really get to know your spouse to reducing boredom and weeding out unprofitable behaviors. Filled with exercises, check lists, and some surprising statistics, 5 Simple Steps to Take Your Marriage from Good to Great will help you bring happiness, joy and fulfillment to the most important relationship of your life. From the Hardcover edition.

Ryan and Selena Frederick were newlyweds when they landed in Switzerland to pursue Selena's dream of training horses. Neither of them knew at the time that Ryan was living out a death sentence brought on by a worsening genetic heart defect. Soon it became clear he needed major surgery that could either save his life--or result in his death on the operating table. The young couple prepared for the worst. When Ryan survived, they both realized that they still had a future together. But the near loss changed the way they saw all that would lie ahead. They would live and love fiercely, fighting for each other and for a Christ-centered marriage, every step of the way. Fierce Marriage is their story, but more than that, it is a call for married couples to put God first in their relationship, to measure everything they do and say to each other against what Christ did for them, and to see marriage not just as a relationship they should try to keep healthy but also as one worth fighting for in every situation. With the gospel as their foundation, Ryan and Selena offer hope and practical help for common struggles in marriage, including communication problems, sexual frustration, financial stress, family tension, screen-time disconnection, and unrealistic expectations.