The Dilemmas of Intimacy: Conceptualization, Assessment and Treatment

The Dilemmas of Intimacy applies evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral interventions to therapeutic work with couples and individuals who have problems with intimacy. Karen Prager introduces a 3-dilemma model that outlines the risks and rewards of intimate relating. A conceptual model for each dilemma is included and addresses the common presenting problems, couple interaction patterns and behavioral deficits, as well as many more factors that affect relationships. Strategies for building the therapeutic alliance; interventions with couple behavior, affect, and thinking patterns; and therapist-client dialogs help clinicians with the day-to-day issues that occur in their work. Unique to this book is the author's Intimacy Signature, an assessment tool that incorporates general assessments of couple and individual functioning with additional measures added for assessing intimacy problems. Through use of the Intimacy Signature the behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspect of each couple's approach to handling intimacy and its dilemmas is laid out.