Product Description

Presenters: Dr. Lisa Firestone
1.5 CE Credits Available for Additional Purchase
90 Minutes

What is real intimacy? How do we define a close relationship? When working with couples what are we trying to help achieve? How do we distinguish between a truly close relationship and an illusion of connection or “fantasy bond?” This Webinar presents a model for an ideal relationship that combines emotional closeness and sexual intimacy, while each partner maintains a differentiated and individuated sense of self. Dr. Firestone will discuss characteristics of a relationship in which a fantasy bond has developed verses an ideal relationship. She will introduce Voice Therapy, an innovative, therapeutic approach, as a model for helping clients break fantasy bonds and enhance each partner’s sense of a differentiated “real self.” She will explore two dimensions of ideal relationships: the degree of emotional closeness and the degree of individuation between partners. She will present Separation Theory, a model that integrates psychodynamic, existential, and family systems frameworks to help couples understand the barriers to achieving and sustaining intimacy.

Learning Objectives:
1) Explore the unconscious factors involved in partner selection and describe the relationship between “falling in love” and couple burnout.
2) Assess the emotional health of partners and learn to identify the negative thoughts they have toward self, partner, and the relationship in order to provide targeted interventions.