2025 IFSCTraining

Partners and Other Strangers
It is a particular challenge to work with couples in trouble. It is so easy for the facilitator to drift in and become part of the couple’s system. The most common couple entanglements: It’s not my fault; my partner needs to change. All I want is to return to the way things used to be. We have to stay together for the children. In this session, we will dive beneath the surface of communication habits, including blame, naiveté, and distraction, to find the hard but generative answers for everyone. I will offer exercises to anchor understandings.

Students will explore:
How not to become entrapped in the couple’s ecosphere
Where to look for new resources
How loyalties to the past can shape current relationships
Maintaining mobility when “beliefs” are at odds with the couple’s way in the world
Not taking sides