Know Your Partner: How Do They Really Work? Jun 18, 2024

Excerpted from the second edition of Wired for Love

By Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT
PACT Developer 

Who are we as relationship partners? How do we move toward and away from (literally and figuratively) those we depend on? It always amazes me that couples can be together for fifteen, twenty, even thirty y...

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If Therapy Is Medicine, How Do We Prevent Overdose? for therapists May 13, 2024

By Allison Howe, LMHC
PACT Certified Clinician, PACT Faculty

Couples come to our office in distress. They want to feel better. For me, PACT therapy provides medicine for the couple. PACT is an approach designed to alleviate the symptoms that come from an insecure, unfair, insensitive relationship th...

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"I’m Not Your Mother" for couples Feb 19, 2024

By Joy A. Dryer, PhD
PACT Certified Clinician, PACT Faculty

“And I’m not your mother!”

“No. You’re much sexier.” Eddie reaches for Eve’s hand. She pulls it back.

Eve shakes her brown curls ‘no’ and gazes past him at the floor. “Your mother bought one cupcake with a stupid candle for your birthdays...

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Using Countertransference to Deepen the Therapeutic Alliance for therapists Feb 12, 2024

By Daniel Scrafford
PACT Level 3 Therapist

In my early professional years, I was asking the question: How can I treat, or cure, or change this person? Now I would phrase the question in this way: How can I provide a relationship which this person may use for his own personal growth?

— Carl R. Roger...

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PACT Executive Director Looks Back, Looks Ahead! Jan 22, 2024

Dear PACT Community,

Happy 2024! As we enter the new year, I’m excited to take this opportunity to look back and reflect on what the PACT Institute has accomplished and to let you know about this year’s plans for continuous growth and improvement – ours and yours!

Looking Back: We’ve Learned and G...

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It Takes Two to Kayak for couples Jan 12, 2024

By Angela Aiello, Ph.D. LMFT
PACT Level 2 Therapist

It’s clichĂ©, but it was really turning into the vacation from hell:

“Oh, for f***’s sake, you’re not maneuvering in the right direction.”
“Me? It’s you! You’re the one who steered us into the muck! Try to move the oars like this!”
“I’m trying, but y...

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Help! My Partner Won't Do Couple Therapy for couples Dec 13, 2023

William Ryan, PhD
PACT Level 3 Therapist

Sarah and Dylan have been married sixteen years and have two children together. Over the last four years, Sarah has been increasingly dissatisfied in the marriage. She has repeatedly asked Dylan to do couple therapy with her. Dylan consistently responded by r...

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Congratulations, New PACT Certified Therapists! for therapists Dec 04, 2023

This month, we’re celebrating a new cohort to have earned the distinct title of PACT Certified Therapist. These therapists completed the highest level of PACT training this year, and you may see them teaching classes, offering consultation, or sharing PACT research projects.

We asked them why they ...

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Plan for Less Stressful Holidays This Year for couples Nov 14, 2023

Ah, the holiday season — a time of celebration, togetherness, and making cherished memories with loved ones. AND a time filled with unique challenges, sometimes unrealistic expectations, and potential stressors that can strain even secure-functioning relationships.

From Thanksgiving to New Year’s D...

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Gratitude, Not Platitudes for therapists Nov 10, 2023

As PACT founder Stan Tatkin says, “A daily gratitude practice is a happiness practice.”

And the cultivation of gratitude in your own life can serve as a potent tool to enhance your clients' emotional well-being — and your own.

More than just a platitude, gratitude has the transformative ability to rew...

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5 Ways to Fight Better with Your Partner for couples Oct 18, 2023

By Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT
PACT Founder

The topic of your disagreement is not as important as how you handle the disagreement. Most issues boil down to errors in memory, perception, and communication. You can solve many of these mistakes by doing the following:

1. Make eye contact. If you are able t...

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PACT Clinicians Share How They Avoid Burnout for therapists Oct 10, 2023

In place of a blog article this month, we’re sharing a question that a PACT community member posted in the Google Group recently, along with several responses. Both the question and the responses were thoughtful and authentic, and we wanted our larger PACT community to have the benefit of reading th...

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