Cognitive - Behavioral Couples Therapy

In "Cognitive-Behavioral Couples Therapy", Dr. Arthur Freeman demonstrates his approach to working with couples. This is a present-focused therapy that first looks at a couple's past experiences for ways to improve their interpersonal exchanges. Dr. Freeman works from a perspective that motivates a couple to stay together and helps them to focus on this and break away from past patterns of thought and behavior. In this session, Dr. Freeman works with Kim and Si, a couple having communication difficulties. In addition, because of busy work schedules, the demands of caring for a family of six, and past patterns of interaction, they find it hard to make time to spend together. Dr. Freeman helps foster better communication skills and works with them to focus on the future and move away from past patterns of blame, avoidance, and defensiveness. The goals of cognitive-behavioral therapy with couples are skill-building and skill-using, as one or both partners may not have the skills needed to make the relationship succeed; sometimes, if they do possess these skills, they choose consciously or subconsciously not to use them.
If skill-using is the goal, often the therapist must work with the couple to figure out why they are not using the skills they possess.