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Hope and Couple Therapy Sutton Reviews

The Book:

Couple Therapy: 

A New Hope-Focused Approach

By

Jennifer S. Ripley

 and

 Everett L. Worthington Jr.


Reviewed by
Geoffrey W. Sutton



My connection to Couple Therapy

I’ve studied hope in Christian samples for several years and find it a powerful motivational dimension of human functioning. Level of hope predicts counseling outcomes. The contents of this book fit well with my view of couple counseling.

Disclosure: I know both authors but I got my book from the Encounter Journal for purposes of writing a review.

What’s Couple Therapy About?

Couple Therapy is an approach to couple therapy grounded in the belief that a Christian’s faith in God leads to hope and that this combination of faith and hope can lead to loving relationships.

The book is written for professional counselors, pastors, and lay counselors, but the authors also note that married couples may benefit from the principles and interventions covered in the thirty chapters.

In contrast with other approaches that focus on relationship satisfaction, Ripley and Worthington focus on four goals: warmth, virtue, health, and happiness. In this view, couple counseling helps couples develop a warm and strong relationship characterized by virtues.

In addition, a healthy relationship is characterized by respect and caring and couples need hope that they will find happiness in love.

Key strengths of the book, Couple Therapy

300 interventions to improve couple relationships
75 new interventions added to the prior edition
Worksheets and handouts
Downloadable materials
Clear and well-organized

Full review

My full review is published in Encounter and is available at no charge from their website. Here’s the link:
https://www.agts.edu/encounter/book_reviews/2015_Fall/Sutton_Couple_Therapy_Book_Review_Rev.pdf

Cite this blog post

Sutton, G. W. (2016, March). Hope and Couple Therapy. Sutton Reviews. Retrieved from http://suttonreviews.suttong.com/

Resource
Videos related to Hope Focused Approach

The reviewed book

Ripley, J. S. & Worthington, E.L. Jr. (2014). Couple therapy: A new hope-focused approach. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity.



_____________________________________________________________________
Read more on related issues in

 A House Divided: Sexuality, Morality, and Christian Cultures

Order from Pickwick              Order from Amazon

See the Website A House Divided

______________________________________________________________________

Connections- Join Me

Facebook  Geoff W. Sutton
Twitter  @GeoffWSutton 
My Website: Geoff W. Sutton   www.suttong.com


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