This session will introduce time-limited couple's therapy based on psychoanalysis and mindfulness that may apply to co-therapists or a single therapist. “Dialogue therapy" is designed to address power struggles, active and passive aggression (as they are used to avoid conflict negotiation), and the entanglements that arise from unconscious communication between partners. This session will introduce the fundamental concepts that underlie this form of therapy, discuss the pitfalls of couple's therapy, and offer video examples of co-therapists using dialogue therapy with a couple.

Upon completion of this session, attendees will be able to:
1) Identify the concepts of “doubling” and “alter ego” from dialogue therapy.
2) Describe the psychoanalytic concept of the “internal theater” and see its relationship to the Kleinian idea of “projective identification” for couples.
3) Summarize the goals and process of dialogue therapy and discuss how to avoid the major pitfalls of couple's therapy.