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How Couple Relationships Shape our World: Clinical Practice, Research, and Policy Perspectives

Editor : Andrew Balfour, Editor : Mary Morgan, Editor : Christopher Vincent

Reviews and Endorsements

'This is a most welcome, twenty-first century updating of psychodynamic approaches to working with couples. The best minds in the field have contributed to this comprehensive consideration of key aspects of this most important domain of clinical activity. This book represents a genuine leap forward.'
- Professor Peter Fonagy, PhD, FBA, Head of Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology and Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre

'How Couple Relationships Shape Our World is a comprehensive, intelligent exposition of forces that impinge on today's marriages, the problems that ensue when they break down, and ways we can support couples and parents now and in the future. For too long, policies privileging children's health have overshadowed the importance of the psychological health of couples and parents, handicapping support for the family as a whole. To redress that split, this book argues convincingly that the well-being of the parental couple - intact or divorced - is crucial to children. Speaking from multiple perspectives, it offers the rationale, clinical theory, and technique for work with couples, and follows with research strategies and implications for social and governmental policy that will strengthen our efforts. In this way, the book delivers a uniquely informative cornucopia for clinicians, researchers, legal experts, and policy planners. I recommend this book enthusiastically to all those who care about the future of marriage, children, and families.'
- David E. Scharff, MD, Chair of the Board and Former Director, International Psychotherapy Institute, Washington, DC

'An excellent, authoritative, and long overdue book with an impressive range of highly respected contributors looking at the critical importance of the couple relationship to our society and overall well-being for both adults and children. It takes a wide-ranging look at the clinical practice and research across the field of couple therapy and its impact on the wider family. The book contains some much needed ideas of ways in which couple therapy can play a more beneficial role in reducing conflict when couples are splitting up, which are highly relevant to the current debate over the operation of the family courts. Each chapter of this book make critical links with key family and social policy dilemmas, with a refreshing emphasis on the importance of couple relationships to so many dimensions of our lives. In short, this book not only puts the couple relationship at the heart of our world, but also at the very heart of social policy thinking.'


- Claire Tyler, Baroness Tyler of Enfield, Chief Executive Officer,
 Relate

'This fascinating book fills a large gap in understanding the key factors that support the healthy development of children. From an early intervention perspective the parental couple relationship is the missing link in making positive changes to children's outcomes but an authoritative analysis of the importance of this special connection has been lacking. This book fills that gap and is essential reading for those who work to support children and families.'
- Graham Allen, MP, author of Early Intervention: The Next Steps and Early Intervention: Smart Investment, Massive Savings

'This book covers enormous ground, from the intimacies of the couple relationship as brought to life in couple therapy, to the implications of the understanding of these processes for other arenas, such as the family court system and social policy. It will be indispensable reading not only for those working in the field and allied professions, but also for anyone wanting to understand current thinking in this area. An outstanding achievement.'
- Dr David Bell, President, British Psychoanalytic Society