Treating Difficult Couples

“This book is versatile and useful for systemically trained therapists and for researchers who wish to understand the connections between individual and relational disorders....This book will be useful to clinicians with all levels of training and experience. Further, it is a must for any clinician working in settings, such as medical facilities, where one is likely to encounter Axis I and II conditions comorbid with dysfunctional relational dynamics.”

—Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy


“This is one of the most important books on couple therapy ever published. Snyder and Whisman's sophisticated yet accessible text signifies that couple therapy is no longer of value solely for explicit relationship problems. As this eye-opening volume makes clear, couple therapy is now a first-line intervention for a wide range of clinical problems traditionally thought of as 'individual.' This superb volume should be required reading not only for courses on couple therapy, but also for any course on the treatment of adult psychopathology.”

—Alan S. Gurman, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin Medical School


“At last, a book that tackles some of the issues that make certain couples hard to help. This is a book about couples in which the individual partners have their own problems, problems that interact with the couple's relationship. Everyone from graduate students to experienced clinicians will value the overviews of research and the practical guidelines on how to assess and treat the complexities of interactive individual and couple issues. This volume is going on my shelves in an easy-to-reach spot, so I can consult it when therapy gets stuck.”

—Kim Halford, PhD, Department of Clinical Psychology, Griffith University, Australia


“Treating Difficult Couples: Helping Clients with Coexisting Mental and Relationship Disorders is a definitive, state-of-the-art text that pulls together the latest research and clinical innovation on couple treatment for the major individual and relational problems of our time. This volume includes chapters from a veritable 'who's who' of well-known couple researchers and clinicians. The reader will discover definitively what is known, and what isn't, about couple approaches to emotional, behavioral, and other health problems. The special strengths of the volume include its integrative conceptualization of individual diagnoses and relational problems, its survey of relevant research, and useful case illustrations. This book is well suited as a text for use in clinical, counseling, and family psychology programs, as well as marriage and family therapy programs.”

—Susan H. McDaniel PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Wynne Center for Family Research, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry


“Finally we have a book that provides an avenue to all the research on difficult couples. This is a book that should be on the shelf of every marital and family therapist. Provided are very practical, usable, and up-to-date reviews of all the major problems that are comorbid with marital distress. This book is a real winner!”

—John Gottman, PhD, Department of Psychology (Emeritus), University of Washington