What is cognitive behavioural couples therapy?

We tend to think about therapy as something that is helpful for individuals, but what about when you want to address problems which affect you and a partner or spouse? In this episode, Dr Lucy Maddox speaks to Dan Kolubinski about cognitive behavioural couples therapy, and hears from Liz and Richard about what the experience was like for them. 

Show Notes and Transcript

Podcast episode produced by Dr Lucy Maddox for BABCP

Dan recommended the book Fighting For Your Marriage by Markman, Stanley & Blumberg

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fighting-Your-Marriage-Best-seller-Preventing-dp-0470485914/dp/0470485914/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Some journal articles on couples therapy are available free online here:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-cognitive-behaviour-therapist/information/let-s-talk-about-cbt-podcast

The podcast survey is here and takes 5 minutes: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/podcastLTACBT

The BABCP website is at www.babcp.com

And the CBT Register of accredited CBT therapists is at https://www.cbtregisteruk.com

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

 

Transcript

Lucy: Hello, and welcome to Let’s Talk About CBT. It’s great to have you listening.  

When we think about therapy, we often think of one-to-one conversations between one person and their therapist. But what about when the problems that we’re going for help with are related to how we’re getting on with a partner or a spouse? Cognitive behavioural couples therapy helps with these sorts of difficulties. To understand more about it I spoke to a married couple, Richard and Liz, and Dan Kolubinski, their therapist.  

Richard and Liz did this therapy privately, but couples therapy is also available on the NHS to help with some specific difficulties. We hear more about that from Dan later on. For now though let’s hear what Richard and Liz thought of their couples therapy in this interview which I recorded with them remotely.  

Richard: My name’s Richard. I’m 37 years old and I’ve been married to Liz for just over seven years now. I’m a postie at the moment, and kind of lived in Essex most of my life.  

Liz: It’s like a dating programme.