Couples on the Fault Line: New Directions for Therapists

Abstract

This book provides an overview of relevant issues that many couples face today. Directed at clinicians who work with families and couples, this book strives to offer a fresh perspective on the various social and technological issues that affect couples in our society. It also intends to provide techniques with which to navigate such issues as they arise in therapy. With chapter contributions from numerous authors, specific and diverse topics are covered, including cross-cultural relationships, depression, infertility, remarriage, and therapy with African-American, gay, lesbian, and later-life couples. Although every chapter is unique in its content, a consistent thread throughout the book is that couples exist in, and are strongly influenced by, a social context that has changed substantially in recent years. Thus, Papp writes that the goal of the volume is to ‘‘present work that demonstrates the many different ways in which the ideology of social awareness can be translated into clinical practice to meet the new challenges of our times’’ (p. 3). This book will likely appeal to clinicians who are looking for information on how to work with specific types of couples (e.g., couples experiencing domestic violence). As well, this book will be helpful to therapists who are interested in a general overview of some issues affecting couples. To this latter end, three of the 13 chapters describe issues that are central in the lives of many couples but which may not be explicitly recognized as potential sources of difficulty: worklife balance, technology, and time. For example, ImberBlack (Chapter 3) describes how the internet provides an opportunity for partners to seek out sexual gratification and communicate with anonymous others, presenting couples with new challenges (e.g., internet affairs). Moreover, Fraenkel and Wilson (Chapter 4) discuss how time pressures (e.g., hours spent working and commuting) can interfere with partners’ quality time together. These issues are highlighted with sensitivity to how both partners in a relationship may be affected. The authors clearly emphasize the impact of modern-day schedules and technology on couples and underscore issues that are likely relevant to countless couples. Most chapters are specific to certain types of couples (e.g., lesbian couples) and to couples with particular problems (e.g., infertility). As such, this book does not have to be read in its entirety. The variety of topics presented in this book represents a large range of issues for which couples seek therapy; a clinician is not likely to deal with all of these issues in his or her work and, as such, may choose to read parts of the book that best address his or her professional needs and interests. Specifically, however, for the reader interested in same-sex relationships, Sanders (Chapter 10) and Marvin and Miller (Chapter 11) present stimulating chapters on working with gay and lesbian couples, respectively. Within these chapters, the authors outline several factors that may be salient to same-sex couples, including the concept of family of choice, heterosexism, and the choice to become parents. Given the separate chapters devoted to gay and lesbian couples, readers gain perspective on some of the differences that may characterize male and female same-sex relationships and can obtain an appreciation for the various issues with which some same-sex couples may struggle. Although this book covers a wide range of issues, a systems-oriented perspective is integrated throughout. The editor and several of the contributing authors have educational backgrounds in social work and, in keeping with the aim of this book, carefully address the systemic factors and interpersonal context that contribute to couples’ difficulties. Similarly, this book maintains a broad perspective in that it K. B. Smith (&) C. F. Pukall Department of Psychology, Queens University, Humphrey Hall, 62 Arch St., Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6 e-mail: 2kbs@queensu.ca