Couples on the Fault Line

Couple therapy is no longer simply a matter of helping couples adjust to the different stages of the life cycle: the life cycle itself has changed. Advances in reproductive technology, the rise of electronic communication, increasing time pressures of daily life, the continuing transformation of gender roles, and the loosening of constraints on same-sex and cross-cultural partnerships are just some of the developments reshaping couple relationships today. This cutting-edge book brings together prominent marital and family therapists to explore the new challenges--and opportunities for growth--facing diverse couples and the clinicians who work with them. Illustrated with vivid case material, the volume presents a range of approaches to helping couples reorder and reconsider their life priorities around such central issues as love, marriage, parenting, commitment, intimacy, and aging. Representing many different outlooks and areas of expertise, contributors offer vital therapeutic perspectives that connect the private world of couples to the changing contexts in which they live.