Couples in Collusion: Short-Term, Assessment-Based Strategies for Helping Couples Disarm Their Defenses

When a couple enters therapy, both partners have either explicit or implicit understandings of what can―and, more importantly, cannot―be discussed in therapy. Even when empirically tested assessments are used to help pinpoint areas of concern and conflict, couples may choose to identify only those areas that are relatively safe and do not seriously threaten each partner’s sense of integrity and vulnerability. How is a therapist supposed to proceed when a couple comes in for a tune-up, not realizing.