Category Archives: Marriage and family

A New Blog — Resolution, Not Conflict

As of the last week of August of 2011 PsychologyToday.com has selected me to be one of the psychologists who post expert-opinions on their website.  My first post on the blog is an article explaining three of the main elements that make couples therapy effective.    “From Thin-Skinned to Win-Win“–a title suggested by Kent Powell, my […]

Effective Apologies: A Quick Guide to the Key Ingredients

To fully clean up distressed feelings an apology needs to include the following ingredients. 1.  Specificity: “I’m sorry about my ______.”  That is, specify exactly what you did that you see now was mistaken. 2.  Non-intentionality: “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 3.  Clarification:  What was your miss – the mistake, misperception, misunderstanding, miscommunication, mishap, […]

Conflict Resolution Treatment with Couples: Levels of Intervention

Three Levels of Conflict Resolution Treatment Susan Heitler, Ph.D., www.therapyhelp.com and www.poweroftwomarriage.com  Jon and Julia came to therapy for help toning down their continual bickering.  Now they rarely bicker and enjoy instead a warm and loving partnership.  What does a conflict resolution therapist do that turns a couple like this from conflict to cooperation? My […]

The Win-Win Waltz: A Strategy for Conflict Resolution and Shared Problem-Solving

Couples often seek information on how to fix a relationship, how to communicate with your spouse, how to handle marriage problems, and how to save a marriage. They are wise to seek out this kind of information, especially about skills for communication in marriage. Most of all they need conflict resolution skills for collaboratively finding win-win solutions to their differences.

Terrorism as Large Scale Domestic Violence

Susan Heitler, Ph.D. What is Terrorism? How Can It Be Understood From Psychological Perspectives Terrorism is a large-scale version of domestic violence. Understanding domestic batterers1 can help us to understand the terrorists who perpetrated the Boston Marathon bombings. Part I of this series of posts offers an overview set of understandings of modern terrorism. Part […]

Treating High-Conflict Couples

Susan Heitler, Ph.D. University of Denver, School of Professional Psychology 1. Define conflict levels Conflict may be expressed in anxious tension, depression, disengagement (for fear of fights), and passive-aggressive or addictive behavior, as well as in overt anger, deprecating or demanding words and tone of voice or, in the extreme, physical violence. High conflict refers to the frequency […]

Teaching Marriage Skills

Susan Heitler, Ph.D: To be published in the forthcoming book Earning a Living Outside of Managed Care: Fifty Ways to Leave Your Oppressor, Steve Walfish, ed. I am a psychologist in private practice whose marriage therapy treatment strategy includes a heavy dose of marriage skills training. I write books for marriage therapists and for couples. I have […]

Surviving the Holiday Roller-Coaster

Susan Heitler, Ph.D. www.TherapyHelp.com The winter holiday season brings emotions aplenty. Gift-giving and family gatherings bring heights of joy to many people—and the intensity of the holidays can trigger equally potent emotional lows. The following list suggests a number of common downers. Be prepared! Planning ahead can prevent emotional crashes, and transform potentially difficult times to opportunities for uplift. […]

On Borderlines and Narcissistics: A Marriage Skills Alternative to Pathologization

By Susan Heitler, Ph.D., author, From Conflict to Resolution www.therapyhelp.com For therapy with the so-called personality disorders of borderlines and narcissists, a non-pathologizing orientation can be helpful. These are folks who function in a borderline or narcissistic matter, that is, in a way that is emotionally stormy and ‘all about me.’ In both syndromes, the folks are not […]