Single in a Married World: A Life Cycle Framework for Working with the Unmarried Adult

“Single in a Married World challenges and informs therapists to see resources rather than deficits in singlehood. Schwartzberg, Berliner, and Jacob have created a map into which all roads do not lead to marriage, but rather to emotional health, connectedness to family and friends, a sense of meaning and honoring difference. The authors transform being single from a ‘problem’ to be solved in therapy to a life to be lived with integrity, commitment, and zest.” ―Evan Imber-Black, Ph.D., Director, Family & Group Studies, Department of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

This guide shows how therapists can help single adults stop perceiving the lack of marital status as a central life story and focus instead on defining an authentic self. This involves looking not only at personal expectations, but also at society's stigmatization of single adults.

Betty Carter is a therapist specializing in family therapy and is the founder of the Family Institute of Westchester in 1977.