The Couples Therapist Couch

Latest Episodes:

103: When HE Has a Higher Sex Drive than SHE with Susan Bratton Nov 19, 2019

Show notes

One of the things we hear most frequently in our office as Couples Therapists is partners with differing levels of sexual desire. For a number of reasons this most often takes the form of a male partner desiring more sex than the female partner.

Susan Bratton does a wonderful job of flipping conventional wisdom on it's head and giving us some great insight into how we can guide people to Revive Her Drive.

Susan Bratton is a champion and advocate for all who desire passionate relationships. Considered the "Dear Abby of Sex," Susan's fresh approach and original ideas have helped millions of people of all ages and across the gender spectrum transform sex into passion.

Married to her husband Tim since 1993, Susan is an author, award-winning speaker, and serial entrepreneur who teaches passionate lovemaking techniques to her fans around the world. Susan has been featured in The New York Times and on CNBC and the TODAY show as well as appearing on ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox, and on NBC as the "Marriage Magician."

Find out more about Susan at susanbratton.com

If you're interested in the course called Revive Her Drive for free (it is usually $197) email Susan at susan@personallifemedia.com and tell her Shane sent you.

Search for Susan Bratton on instagram and youtube for more valuable resources.

The Couples Therapist Couch is the podcast for Couples Therapists about the practice of couples therapy. The host, Shane Birkel, interviews an expert in the field of couples therapy each week.

Please subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes.

See below for more information on the Couples Therapist Inner Circle.

Get your free course called Working with Couples 101

Click here to join the Couples Therapist Couch Facebook Group

Today's Sponsor

The Couples Therapist Inner Circle

This is the Membership Site for Couples Therapists. There is a workshop every month on topics like EFT, Gottman, Infidelity, and Working with Sex. Additionally there are regular question and answer sessions and opportunities to talk about cases.

102: Couples Intensive Retreats with Kerry Lusignan Nov 12, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Kerry Lusignan talks about the benefits and structure of a couples intensive. Couples intensives are becoming more and more popular and are more effective for helping couples make deeper, more lasting progress.

Kerry is the founder of Northampton Center for Couples Therapy in Northampton, MA. She has extensive training in several different models of couples therapy such as Gottman, EFT, PECT, Daring Way (Brene Brown), and many others.

Find out more about Kerry here: https://www.northamptoncouplestherapy.com/

The Couples Therapist Couch is the podcast for Couples Therapists about the practice of couples therapy. The host, Shane Birkel, interviews an expert in the field of couples therapy each week.

Please subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes.

See below for more information on the Couples Therapist Inner Circle.

Get your free course called Working with Couples 101

Click here to join the Couples Therapist Couch Facebook Group

Today's Sponsor

The Couples Therapist Inner Circle

101: How to Help Your Partner Heal from an Affair with Linda MacDonald Nov 05, 2019

Show notes

One of the most difficult situations that couples face is when there has been an affair and they are trying to heal. Every one of these situations is unique and different, but there are some general themes that tend to come up a lot. When partners can learn the skills and are willing to work at it, the recovery can go much more smoothly.

These skills are exactly what Linda MacDonald teaches partners in her book, How to Help Your Partner Heal from an Affair. It is also the topic of our conversation in this episode of the podcast.

Linda J. MacDonald, MS, LMFT is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with over 30 years' experience specializing in helping couples and individuals heal from infidelity. She graduated from Seattle Pacific University in 1988 with a Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has been in private practice since 1987 and currently works at The Shepherd's Center in the Pacific Northwest. She felt compelled to write "How to Help Your Spouse Heal from Your Affair" due to the lack of material that offered practical steps for unfaithful spouses who want to salvage their marriages after an affair.

Find out more about Linda here: lindajmacdonald.com

Purchase the book on Amazon: How to Help Your Spouse Heal from Your Affair

The Couples Therapist Couch is the podcast for Couples Therapists about the practice of couples therapy. The host, Shane Birkel, interviews an expert in the field of couples therapy each week.

Please subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes.

See below for more information on the Couples Therapist Inner Circle.

Get your free course called Working with Couples 101

Click here to join the Couples Therapist Couch Facebook Group

Today's Sponsor

The Couples Therapist Inner Circle

100: Harville Hendrix on Imago Therapy - (rerun) Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

Today we celebrate the 100th episode of The Couples Therapist Couch with a rerun of one of the most popular episodes. Thanks for all your support!

This episode explores fundamental questions like why do we fall in love, why do couples fight and how can couples work through conflict? Harville Hendrix has been on the forefront of teaching about relationships for decades. He is the founder of the couples therapy model called Imago Couples Therapy.

Harville Hendrix Ph.D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt Ph.D. are internationally-respected couple's therapists, educators, speakers, and New York Times bestselling authors. Together, they have written over 10 books with more than 4 million copies sold, including the timeless classic, Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples. In addition, Harville has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey television program 17 times.

The Couples Therapist Couch is the podcast for Couples Therapists about the practice of couples therapy. The host, Shane Birkel, interviews an expert in the field of couples therapy each week.

Please subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes.

See below for more information on the Couples Therapist Inner Circle.

Get your free course called Working with Couples 101

Click here to join the Couples Therapist Couch Facebook Group

Today's Sponsor

The Couples Therapist Inner Circle

099: The Importance of Conflict for Couples with CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke Oct 15, 2019

Show notes

Many people in our society have a belief that conflict is always a bad thing and should be avoided at all costs. In the interview today we unravel this myth about conflict and explore how it is not only helpful to relationships, but also essential. That is not to say it is always a good thing and it is very important to understand how we are approaching conflict in our relationships.

Not only are CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke experts at this and have literally written the book. They are also well practiced in the benefits of conflict in their marriage to each other.

CrisMarie Campbell and Susan Clarke are the founders of Thrive!—a coaching and consulting firm that specializes in helping individuals, leaders, teams and entire companies learn how to deal with differences to ignite creativity and innovation. They have a proven, step-by-step process for making teams great—a process they've honed working with hundreds of leaders and their teams for over 25 years.

See their TedX talk called Conflict - Use it Don't Defuse it

Get their book called The Beauty of Conflict for Couples

The Couples Therapist Couch is the podcast for Couples Therapists about the practice of couples therapy. The host, Shane Birkel, interviews an expert in the field of couples therapy each week.

Please subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes.

See below for more information on the Couples Therapist Inner Circle.

Get your free course called Working with Couples 101

Click here to join the Couples Therapist Couch Facebook Group

Today's Sponsor

The Couples Therapist Inner Circle

098: Neurodiverse Couples with Grace Myhill Oct 01, 2019

Show notes

When one or both couples are on the Autism Spectrum or label themselves as Aspergers, it can be incredibly helpful to be understanding of particular things that will be helpful for working with these specific couples. In this episode, Grace Myhill talks about particular topics that neurodiverse couples often seek help with.

Here is a paragraph from her website: A couple is neurodiverse when one partner is neurotypical — processes information the way most people do — and the other partner has a different neurological process, as is the case when someone has Asperger's. This difference between the partners can affect their relationship and that is why it is important to understand that neurology matters when working on the couple's issues.

The Couples Therapist Couch is the podcast for Couples Therapists about the practice of couples therapy. The host, Shane Birkel, interviews an expert in the field of couples therapy each week.

Grace Myhill is the Director of Couple's and Partner's Services, Asperger / Autism Network (AANE). She facilitates many Groups and Workshops for couples as well as therapists. She is a presenter at workshops for spouses and professionals on the topic of Asperger's and you can find articles on her website: gracemyhill.com.

Here is the link to sign up for the course on working with neurodiverse couples.

Please subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes. See below for more information on the Couples Therapist Inner Circle.

Get your free course called Working with Couples 101

Click here to join the Couples Therapist Couch Facebook Group

Today's Sponsor

The Couples Therapist Inner Circle

097: Female Desire with Lisa Taddeo Sep 24, 2019

Show notes

In the history of our society there has been a huge amount of shame for women about their own desires. There is still a pervasive problem of not talking about what is going on and what people really want. Because no one is talking about it, no one feels accepted or validated about their desire. Author, Lisa Taddeo, breaks this silence in her book Three Women.

Lisa is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and journalist and two-time recipient of the Pushcart Prize for her short stories. She has been published numerous time and has been awarded the William Holodnok Fiction Prize and the Florence Engel Randall Award in fiction.

Check out Lisa Taddeo on Instagram and Twitter. Here is a link to her book, Three Women.

The Couples Therapist Couch is the podcast for Couples Therapists about the practice of couples therapy. The host, Shane Birkel, interviews an expert in the field of couples therapy each week.

Please subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes. See below for more information on the Couples Therapist Inner Circle.

Get your free course called Working with Couples 101

Click here to join the Couples Therapist Couch Facebook Group

Today's Sponsor

The Couples Therapist Inner Circle

Find out more about the Couples Therapist Inner Circle

096: Elliott Connie on Solution Focused Brief Therapy Sep 17, 2019

Show notes

In this episode about Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Elliot Connie talks about some amazing strategies to help couples achieve great results in their relationships. He goes into details about how much of psychotherapy is all wrong, asking the right questions, and letting the client take the lead. He describes how asking people what they want in a skillful way and staying with it, requires them to move into deeper levels of vulnerability.

Elliott Connie is a therapist, author, speaker, and educator in Solution Focused Brief Therapy. He has written several books on the topic and travels the world teaching other therapists. He founded The Solution Focused University where he hosts events, travels the world lecturing and often release free learning materials to help learners master this approach and use it in their work, even with the most challenging clinical situations.

Find out more about his books, trainings, and videos at his website here: elliottconnie.com

The Couples Therapist Couch is the podcast for Couples Therapists about the practice of couples therapy. The host, Shane Birkel, interviews an expert in the field of couples therapy each week.

Please subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes.

Get your free course called Working with Couples 101

Click here to join the Couples Therapist Couch Facebook Group

Today's Sponsor

The Kauai Retreat for Therapists

The CAV Academy presents the Kauai Retreat for therapists on Kauai, Hawaii from February 13-15 2020. There are 3 days of workshops exploring the practice of Couples Therapy including one full day intensive with Terry Real. Sign up here!

095: How to Be a Functional Adult with Jan Bergstrom Sep 10, 2019

Show notes

In this episode with Jan Bergstrom, we go into depth about the 5 Core Practices of a Healthy Life. This work was inspired by Pia Mellody and has become the foundation for many models of therapy. We talk about doing inner child work, feelings reduction work, and standing in your truth. We also touch on the importance of self-esteem and boundaries.

Jan is the co-founder of the Healing Our Core Issues Institute. She is the author of the new book, Gifts From a Challenging Childhood. She has trained with Pia Mellody, Peter Levine, John Kabat Zinn, Sue Johnson, and Terry Real.

For more information on trainings and workshops go to healingourcoreissuesinstitute.com.

Get Jan's book, Gifts From a Challenging Childhood

The Couples Therapist Couch is the podcast for Couples Therapists about the practice of couples therapy. The host, Shane Birkel, interviews an expert in the field of couples therapy each week.

Please subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes.

Get your free course called Working with Couples 101

Click here to join the Couples Therapist Couch Facebook Group

Today's Sponsor

The Kauai Retreat for Therapists

094: ADHD and Couples Therapy with Ari Tuckman Sep 03, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Ari Tuckman describes how he often sees clients where what is being defined as "problematic behavior" is actually due to undiagnosed ADHD. Ari gives us a lot of information about how to work with these clients and how to help them feel more connected.

Ari is an expert at working with ADHD, relationships and is also a sex therapist. He has written 4 books and has a podcast about ADHD called More Attention, Less Deficit.

Books:

ADHD After Dark: Better Sex Life, Better Relationship (August 2019)
Understand Your Brain, Get More Done: The ADHD Executive Functions Workbook
More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD
Integrative Treatment for Adult ADHD: A Practical, Easy-to-Use Guide for Clinicians

Find out more at adultadhdbook.com

The Couples Therapist Couch is the podcast for Couples Therapists about the practice of couples therapy. The host, Shane Birkel, interviews an expert in the field of couples therapy each week.

Please subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes.

Get your free course called Working with Couples 101

Click here to join the Couples Therapist Couch Facebook Group

Today's Sponsor

The Kauai Retreat for Therapists