The Dilemmas of Intimacy applies evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral interventions to therapeutic work with couples and individuals who have problems with intimacy. Karen Prager introduces a 3-dilemma model that outlines the risks and rewards of intimate relating. A conceptual model for each dilemma is included and addresses the common presenting problems, couple interaction patterns and behavioral deficits, as well as many more factors that affect relationships. Strategies for building the therapeutic alliance; interventions with couple behavior, affect, and thinking patterns; and therapist-client dialogs help clinicians with the day-to-day issues that occur in their work. Unique to this book is the author’s Intimacy Signature, an assessment tool that incorporates general assessments of couple and individual functioning with additional measures added for assessing intimacy problems. Through use of the Intimacy Signature the behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspect of each couple’s approach to handling intimacy and its dilemmas is laid out. Visit the publisher’s website for access to additional clinical material, such as the Intimacy Signature basic intake, worksheet packets for each intimacy dilemma, initial formulation worksheets, therapist worksheets for in-session and at-home experiments, a couple’s take-home packet, and individual partner and intimacy assessment interviews. --- from the publisher Contents: Introduction. 1. Rewards, Risks, and Intimacy Dilemmas 2. The Assessment of Intimacy-Related Problems 3. Getting Started and Building the Therapeutic Alliance 4. Behavioral Interventions 5. Affective Interventions 6. Cognitive Interventions 7. Intimacy's Core Dilemmas: Joy vs. Protection from Hurt 8. Intimacy Dilemma #2: How Much "I" vs. How Much We 9. The Urge to Merge, Dilemma #2 and the Challenges of Differentiation 10. Dilemma #3: "The Past Lives in the Present" Concluding Thoughts. About the Author: Karen J. Prager, PhD, ABPP, is a professor of psychology and program head for Gender Studies at The University of Texas at Dallas. She is also a diplomate in couple and family psychology, specializes in the treatment of troubled relationships, and offers supervision and continuing education for mental health professionals on couple therapy. |