Surpassing Threats and Rewards

Explore the dynamics of discord, rejection, and blame in the coupling process. Surpassing Threats and Rewards provides practical information to help readers understand marital dissatisfaction and how this dissatisfaction manifests itself in relationships. The book includes a transcript from the work of master therapist Virginia Satir in which she discusses the advantage of using the growth model in work with families. Most individuals are raised in families that use the threat and reward model rather than the growth model, and then bring the threat and reward model to their marriages--which can result in discord, blame, and dissatisfaction.In Surpassing Threats and Rewards, the contributing authors discuss:

the psychology of victimhood
meditations for couples
the Control Mastery perspective
a framework for systemic therapy with individuals
separation as a useful technique in marital therapySeveral chapters contain insightful studies which explore:
the relationship between childhood experiences and marital conflict
marital satisfaction prior to couples therapy
the relationship of self-disclosure and spouse description to problem severity and commitment to therapySurpassing Threats and Rewards is a useful reference and guide to help beginning and expert social workers, counsellors, psychologists, and psychiatrists, especially those engaged in work with couples and families, better understand the processes of conflict in couples and how to resolve such conflict.