March / April 2023 Volume 22, No. 2

Part 1 Working with the Sexual Cycle in Couples Therapy: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

What Are Sexual Cycles and Why Work With Them? In this article, we want to help couple clinicians work with the sexual cycle as intently as with the emotional cycle, to forge the strongest bond in couples’ bodies, minds, and hearts. When we fall in love, we all ache to be loved deeply and desired [...]

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March / April 2023 Volume 22, No. 2

Benefits and Risks: The TikTok Phenomenon

Marriage and family therapists (MFTs) are uniquely positioned to assess interactions between members of a system. As clinicians, we are trained to recognize the influence of parts of the client system that may never enter the therapy room and include them in our therapeutic equations. An evolving systemic member in absentia resides not in the [...]

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January / February 2023 Volume 22, No. 1

What’s in a Name?: The Power of Professional Pronouns

One of the primary tools that we have in our clinical, supervisory, and educational relationships is our ability to share language and meaning with each other. The power of words is not a new idea. Indeed, in the field of psychotherapy it is as old as psychoanalytic thinking and systemic practice. We see it discussed [...]

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January / February 2023 Volume 22, No. 1

Integrating EMDR and EFT in Couple Therapy

As much as I’ve loved Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and revolved my clinical practice around it, it has always felt like it has had one major short-coming; it has primarily been practiced as an individual therapy (Capps, 2006; Linder, 2020; Linder et al., 2021; Linder et al., 2022; Marich, 2011; Parnell, 2010; [...]

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January / February 2023 Volume 22, No. 1

Myths About Marriage

There are many common misconceptions about what happens in marriage—myths that never come true—and behaviors flow from those myths that harm the couple and their relationship, leaving them unhappy and dissatisfied. Statistics suggest that "happily ever after" occurs no more than 50% of the time (Cole & Broussard, 2006), considering how many couples' divorce. Is [...]

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January / February 2023 Volume 22, No. 1

Systemic Supervision

Systemic thinking is understanding and exploring the intricacies of an individual and bearing in mind how we impact each other through our interactions and behaviors. Applying this to therapy and supervision can be seen through acknowledging differences in belief systems, attitudes, and approaches to life (Lee & Nelson, 2022). Clinical supervision focuses on increasing a [...]

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November / December 2022 Volume 21, No.6

Treating Families of Young Children with Disruptive Behavior at School: A Systemic Approach

Several years ago, before starting my journey as a marriage and family therapist (MFT), I found myself inside a preschool meeting room, seated across from a row of tense-faced women—a teacher, a psychologist, and the school director. They had a problem on their hands—an oddly precocious five-year-old boy who wouldn’t always cooperate, frequently talked back, [...]

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November / December 2022 Volume 21, No.6

Systemic Perspectives on Perinatal Mental Health: Six Major Changes for Parents

Amy* was sitting slumped on a couch in my office for her initial appointment. She appeared a little nervous but was trying to hold it together. After pleasantries were exchanged, she stated she had her son four months ago, and since then, things had changed a lot around the house and with the family, especially [...]

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September / October 2022 Volume 21, No. 5

Giving Infidelity a New Name: How Clinicians Can Best Support Their Clients

Lonergan, Brunet, Rivest-Beauregard, and Groleau (2021) argue that betrayal from a romantic partner is increasingly considered as a form of interpersonal trauma. Furthermore, about 30%-60% of individuals who are betrayed by their romantic partner will struggle with symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and anxiety and depression at the clinical level (Lonergan et al., [...]

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September / October 2022 Volume 21, No. 5

Working Systemically with Children In Foster Care

Initial interview with Ken Ken, a 14 year old, was removed from his home by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Systemic clinician: Hello… (introduce names, roles and purpose of today’s session). As you know, DCFS has contacted me and asked if I would meet with you to talk about DCFS’s involvement in [...]

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