By Nicole Reger, MS, CRC, LPC-Intern

Supervised by Katrena Hart, LPC-S

In my last blog I consider the question, “Why couples therapy?”  I describe common obstacles and also many benefits to couple’s therapy.   So now you’re thinking…maybe couples therapy, but how does it work?

I practice the Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT), developed by Dr. Stan Tatkin.  PACT is a blend of attachment theory, developmental neuroscience, and response (or “arousal”) management.  (https://thepactinstitute.com/dividedpage/what-is-pact/)  PACT has a reputation for effectively treating the most challenging couples.  My couples approach, informed by PACT, includes role play, enactments, and scenes to make couples therapy “doable,” active, and often fun.  

In a typical session, you can expect me to focus on moment to moment shifts in tone, feeling, and energy.  Our first step is observing and understanding how you, the couple, operate as a system.  Tracking smalls shifts allows us to hone in on the ways in each partner affects one another.  We look at these shifts together to clear up any misperceptions by either one of you. 

The ultimate goal is for you to become “experts” on each other.  When you understand how your partner ticks and how to receive them, then you can support one another.  From there we can safely explore areas of concern or unresolved issues from the past.  In a nutshell, I will guide you in safely resolving the challenges you face as a couple.