Dear past present and future LDPRT students, and any other chance readers. I find myself sitting waiting on a runway, about to embark on another adventure, and minded to reflect on other trips. The journey to becoming a faculty member on the Diploma course has been a long and winding road. And well rewarded by … [Read more…]
Things have never seemed better for same-sex couples*: marriage and civil partnerships, more same-sex couples becoming parents, increased representation in the media. These couples seem to be moving into the mainstream and assimilation continues apace… resistance is futile! As couple therapists we see this in the consulting room with same-sex couples bringing the same issues … [Read more…]
As defined by Loomes and Sugden (1986) disappointment is ” a psychological reaction to an outcome that does not match up against prior expectations” (Theory of Disappointment, Naplas and Chauveau, (2007) What characterises much of our couples and psychosexual work? Underneath all the anger, resentment, fear and bewilderment are usually disappointments with dreams, hopes, or … [Read more…]
The suggestion that I contribute to the LDPRT blog reminded me that it was time I re-read the COSRT Codes of Ethics and Practice – one for General and Accredited members and one for Supervisors, the latter in my anecdotal experience being generally less familiar to COSRT members. I try to do this regularly as … [Read more…]
The urologist looked startled. Silence vacillated in the consulting room for a few torturing minutes. My client, a man in his thirties who has a diagnosis of cerebral palsy and mild intellectual disability, was watching us trying to hide his anxious anticipation behind his smile. I had just asked the urologist to review a sexual … [Read more…]
The Jewish festival of Chanukah each year in December reminds Jews of a time when Antiochus, a Syrian king, tried to force the Jewish people to worship Greek gods. A statue of Antiochus was erected in the Jewish temple and Jews were ordered to bow down before him. As the Ten Commandments forbid Jews to … [Read more…]
During a couples therapy session and unexpectedly, Sue gets up and hits her partner Rob in the face. How should we, as couples therapists respond? Many couples therapists state categorically “I don’t work with domestic violence”. The usual justification given is that if there were some degree of intimidation in the therapy room or spouses … [Read more…]
The psychosexual elements of our work as psychosexual and relationship therapists can seem, at times, to be very straightforward and even risk becoming formulaic. We regularly use homework CBT exercises, relationship rekindling, communication work etc. More often than not, though, I find myself engrossed and excited by the way our clients bring out, not just the … [Read more…]
Many mornings I wake up and, though for increasingly less time, am still transported back into my real body, where I sit up, stretch, plan my clothes, the calls I must make, the day’s activities. Then full wakefulness kicks in and I realise that I am trapped in an alien body, which has taken over … [Read more…]