Power and Partnering

Power and Partnering examines the relationship between power and equal partnering within the context of a couple's relationship. It also features the second in a series of transcripts from the work of master therapist Virginia Satir. This interview excerpt addresses the benefits of the growth or seed model as compared to the threat and reward model in human behavior. Captioning the concepts "Ways of Viewing the World," Virginia Satir points to the vast advantages of the growth model over a dominance and submission model. This discussion follows a role-played situation in which the discomfort of the misuse of power is made clear.

Power and Partnering benefits therapists working with couples who would like to bring mutuality and equal partnering in terms of the use of power between a pair. It sheds new light on the issue of inequality in relationships through its coverage of these topics:

• A Training Session with Virginia Satir: She demonstrates the use and misuse of power in a couple, showing the harmful effects of "overpowering" even when the domination is so-called "benign."
• Marital Satisfaction and "Personal Authority" The results of a study show a clear, positive relationship between late master therapist Murray Bowen's concept of personal authority and marital satisfaction.
• Description of PAIRS (Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills) Training: A highly effective psychoeducational program for couples as described in Psychology Today.
• Single Custodial Fathers: Authors explore the use and abuse of power in achieving male identity and personal power within the self of the therapist.
  
  Power and Partnering deals with the use and misuse of personal power. While some chapters deal with gender issues and some with issues of personal power, Couples therapists, family therapists, counselors, pastoral counselors, social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and students in these disciplines, from beginners to advanced therapists, will find the information beneficial to their work and research. The Satir interview is especially useful to those interested in using the Satir Model of working with systems.