Consider how your own values, beliefs, and assumptions will guide your approach toward couples and sex therapy while providing a crisis intervention. Choose one of the following scenarios (please pick a scenario that feels challenging to you):
- Early in the second therapy session one partner announces that she/he is leaving the marriage and walks out of the session.
- Several weeks into therapy, the husband announces that he always felt an attraction to men and now believes that he cannot live his life as a lie and ignore these feelings. While he still respects his current spouse, he would like to work towards dissolution of the marriage.
- A couple comes to therapy because the male/female partner wants to bring a third person into their relationship.
- A couple comes to therapy with polarized views on having kids. One partner wants children and the other does not. Would your views about this issue change if the couple consists of different sexes, the same sex, older (in their late forties), or younger (mid-twenties)?
- After attending therapy for five sessions, one partner tells you (in private) that she/he had an affair. This partner wants to continue to work on the marriage and insists that you not tell the other partner.
- You are working with a couple in their mid-twenties who have been married for just over a year. They came to you because they are having sexual problems. They report having had frequent and mutually satisfying sex before they were married; however, once married, the amount of sexual encounters decreased dramatically. Upon further exploration of their history, you learn that they have been attending a local church marriage enrichment class. One partner admitted feeling significant shame about having had premarital sex. This partner feels that had they waited, their sexual experiences would be more fulfilling currently.
- A husband and wife come in to work on a sexual issue. About 4 weeks into therapy you learn that one of the partners is only attracted to people of his/her same sex yet they are committed, because of religious beliefs, to stay in a heterosexual relationship.
As you consider working with the couple from your chosen scenario, write a discussion post addressing the following:
- Which scenario did you choose?
- What might you be feeling?
- What values do you hold about the issue(s) your clients are working through?
- How will you manage your feelings to be of help to the couple?
- How will you approach therapy from this point forward?
- What steps will you take to continue to explore these and other values?
- Identify at two resources (at least one being a peer-reviewed journal article) either from your readings or your own library search that will help you further explore this topic.
Length: 500-750 words
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