Integrative couples therapy

Models of couples therapy have evolved from different theoretical traditions, each rooted in different assumptions. Arthur Nielsen, with over 40 years of experience, argues that integrating therapeutic approaches can be very useful in working with couples. He describes the three main approaches to conceptualizing distress and couples therapy – systemic, psychodynamic, and behavioral – and shows how they can be combined into a model that draws on the best of each.

In this conversation, Arthur Nielsen will discuss with Aner Guvrin and Sharon Ziv-Beiman the model he developed that combines systemic, psychodynamic, and behavioral approaches to couples therapy. In the conversation, we will discuss topics such as:

What are the basics of couples therapy?

What are the most applicable components of psychodynamic and behavioral approaches to couples therapy?

How can they be combined?

Demonstration of clinical work based on a combination of the three core approaches to couples therapy

How to deal with various problems through the model – for example:

Control and manage the emotional room temperature

Encourage couples to talk to each other rather than to their therapist

Cool things down when the interaction becomes explosive

Identify and modify pathological dancing

Dr. Arthur Nielsen is a full-time psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and couples therapist in Chicago, Illinois. He is a clinical professor of psychiatry at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine, a faculty member at Northwestern's Family Institute, and a faculty member at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis where he is co-director of the Integrative Psychoanalytic Couples Therapy Program.

For many years, until recently, he was the coordinator of a popular course he developed for undergraduate students at Northwestern, Marriage 101: Building Loving, Lasting Relationships. In recent years, he has lectured throughout the United States and internationally, and has taught courses on couples therapy to students in Iran and China. He is the author of more than 40 published professional articles in the fields of psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and couples therapy, along with two textbooks: A Roadmap for Couple Therapy: Integrating Systemic, Psychodynamic, and Behavioral Approaches and Integrative Couple Therapy in Action: A Practical Guide for Handling Common Relationship Problems and Crises.