How Do You Know If a Couple Is Secure Functioning? secure functioning stan tatkin Jan 09, 2022

Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT

PACT Founder


In PACT, we expect couples to be secure functioning. But even secure-functioning couples have problems. You will see secure-functioning couples in your office.

How do you know if the couple in your office is secure functioning?

  1. They come in with a therapeutic...
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Dealing with the Unavoidable Extended Family  family for couples jon taylor Dec 19, 2021

Jon Taylor, LCSW, CSAT, CMAT

PACT Level 2 


“Who is your real family, me or them?”

Figuring out how to deal with your and your partner’s extended families can be difficult. It’s one of the major sources of disagreement between partners. Both partners can have deep...

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Vipassana and PACT: Complementary Paths of Secure Functioning   cynthia ropek for therapists meditation Dec 10, 2021

 by Cynthia Ropek MA, LPC

PACT Level 3


Vipassana meditation is an ancient mindfulness tradition, which focuses on insight into the causes of suffering and the path to freedom. The Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy® (PACT) is a multifaceted therapeutic methodology for working...

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PACT Therapy with Disorganized Couples amanda moates disorganized for therapists Nov 11, 2021

Amanda Moates, PhD

PACT Level 2 Therapist


Insecurely attached partners, those who operate from a one-person psychological system, tend to place “pro-self values over relationship and defend against interdependency and mutuality,” as Stan Tatkin writes in the October 2020 issue of ...

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“Happy Wife, Happy Life”… Right? for couples mark mouro secure functioning Oct 20, 2021

By Mark Mouro

PACT Level 1 


I don’t know about you, but when I was a young man growing up and trying to navigate the treacherous world of relationships, one adage stuck with me more than any other: “Happy wife, happy life.” Remember that one? Some of you may live by that...

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Melodic Moments and Cymbal Crashes daniiel scrafford for therapists Oct 06, 2021

Daniel Scrafford, LCSW

PACT Level 2 Therapist


It was always delightful to listen to my dad, a professor of music, talk about his passion for music. His face would light up, his voice would boom, and I was mesmerized. At those times, I felt as if he was handing down the most treasured lessons of...

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3 Things Couple Therapy Can’t Do and What It Can annie chen for couples secure functioning Sep 20, 2021

 By Annie Chen, LMFT (https://www.changeinsight.net)

PACT Level 2 Therapist


The Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT) centers around a set of principles that are grounded in relationship fairness, mutuality, and safety, what we call secure functioning. Everything I do as a PACT...

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Turn-Ons and Shut-Downs: Exploring Sexuality with PACT caroline smith for therapists sex sexuality Sep 09, 2021

Caroline Russell Smith, LCSW-R

PACT Level 2 Therapist


I was voted “Most Likely to Become the Next Dr. Ruth” in my high school yearbook, but not until 16 years into my career as an individual therapist did I finally complete sex therapy certification. I had virtually no experience...

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Welcoming Baby Bomb baby bomb for couples kara hoppe stan tatkin Aug 16, 2021

Welcoming Baby Bomb

The following is an excerpt from Baby Bomb: A Relationship Survival Guide for New Parents, by Kara Hoppe and Stan Tatkin, now available for purchase here. 

When Jude was only a few days old, Charlie and I were sitting all cozy on our couch on a winter afternoon, as...

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A Humbling Journey Toward an Anti-Racist PACT Institute for therapists stan tatkin Aug 12, 2021

Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT


In the summer of 2020, the PACT Institute – and Tracey and I personally – made a commitment to improve our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and to better serve systemically marginalized communities. We immediately started working with a DEI...

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Real Talk on Betrayal betrayal cheating for couples infidelity jake porter Jul 14, 2021

By Jake Porter, LPC, NCC, CPC

PACT Level 2 Therapist


You’ve been betrayed. Or maybe you did the betraying. Either way, your relationship is on life support, and you’re wondering if the only answer is to say goodbye and pull the plug.

Maybe. Maybe the cut is too deep, the hurt too...

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The Use of PACT Principles in Non-Romantic Dyads for therapists secure functioning yvonne oke Jul 01, 2021

Yvonne Oke, LMFT

PACT Level 2

https://www.mymoderntherapy.com/yvonne-oke


One of my favorite things about the PACT model is the ability to be creative. As a marriage and family therapist, I have the opportunity to work with not only romantic dyads but also dyads that consist of family members,...

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