How to be a couple & still be free Book

Transform your unsatisfying relationship into a "loving, sustainable, healthy partnership between equals." Licensed marriage and family counselors Tina Tessina and Riley Smith show you how in this guidebook for couples of all stripes (straight and gay, married and unmarried, monogamous and open). The goal is to become a "free couple"--expressing love easily; respecting each other; sharing equal power in the relationship; expressing desires, needs, and satisfactions; and resolving problems cooperatively. Tessina and Smith walk you through the five steps of "cooperative problem solving" using the clear, sequential instructions of the "negotiation tree." Each step is detailed in its own chapter, with highly structured techniques, frequent anecdotes, and sample dialogues clarifying the concepts and strategies. "Rather than fight, you work together; rather than feeling deprived, you both feel fulfilled," write the authors. "Rather than being defeated, you experience success; rather than restricting yourselves, you are each free to be yourself." This book is like taking a couples workshop from two skilled, warm, and articulate therapists. Recommended for couples who are frustrated by getting stuck in conflicts and are willing to learn structured guidelines for cooperative problem-solving. --Joan Price