Couple Power Therapy: Building Commitment, Cooperation, Communication, and Community in Relationships

Conventional couples therapy focuses on correcting specific relationship problems, but this method is often limited because it does not result in lasting improvement. In Couple Power Therapy: Building Commitment, Cooperation, Communication, and Community in Relationships, Drs. Sheras and Koch-Sheras introduce the Couple Power Therapy model, an exciting new approach in which partners cocreate a unified vision for their relationship. These seasoned couples therapists use a series of sequential tasks to teach the partners how to transcend their individual identities to nurture "the couple as entity," in effect, crafting a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. This shifts the paradigm away from the therapist's responsibility for success to the couple’s responsibility, from the more negative emphasis of focusing on problems to a more positive goal of creating a fulfilling relationship, and from a quick fix to lifelong development skills.
 
At the heart of this model are the tasks known as the "4 C's" of Couple Power Therapy: commitment, cooperation, communication, and community. Upon learning these tasks, the authors note, any couple can develop and maintain the solid foundation that is crucial for successful couplehood. Packed with exercises and illustrative case studies, this innovative book is an indispensable resource for therapists seeking to empower their clients and equip them with the progressive and practical tools necessary for healthy, long-lasting partnerships.
 

Peter L. Sheras, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical psychologist and a professor in the University of Virginia's Curry Programs in Clinical and School Psychology. He has been in part-time independent practice for nearly 30 years and has authored publications on couples, parenting, youth violence, and adolescent development, including Your Child: Bully or Victim? Understanding and Ending Schoolyard Tyranny (2002), "I Can't Believe You Went Through My Stuff": How to Give Your Teens the Privacy They Crave and the Guidance They Need (2004), and Clinical Psychology: A Social Psychological Approach (1979). He is the coauthor of the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents (SIPA). He holds a diplomate in clinical psychology, is a fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Sexologists, and past president of the Virginia Psychological Association. He appears frequently as an expert in the media on topics of couples, adolescents, and families. He received his doctorate from Princeton University.
 
Phyllis R. Koch-Sheras, PhD, is a practicing clinical psychologist and coauthor of several books on dreams and couples, including The Dream Sourcebook (1995), The Dream Sharing Sourcebook (1998), and Dream On: A Dream Interpretation and Exploration Guide for Women (1983). She is past president of the Virginia Applied Psychology Academy and the Virginia Psychological Association. Dr. Koch-Sheras received her doctorate from the University of Texas and has worked in state hospitals, university counseling centers, and independent practice. She is an adjunct faculty member in the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education.
 
The authors have been working with couples together since the mid-1970s and have been training other therapists for 25 years. They have been happily married for nearly three decades and have two adult children. Drs. Sheras and Koch-Sheras are featured regularly on the radio and live in Charlottesville, Virginia.