Couples Therapy and Relationships: Hedy Schleifer

In the world of couples therapy, there seem to be a few people who are known world-wide as masters of the trade. Hedy Schleifer is one of them. You may not have heard of her before, since she hasn’t written any books about her approach.

I was introduced to her work through a video interview in which she explains her approach at length. She believes that we seek out “incompatible” partners who, we sense at some level, can help us mature through a close relationship, provided we are willing to open ourselves to accept one another fully.

She illustrates this idea and many other aspects of her approach in a series of powerful stories in this 20-minute presentation she gave at a TED event in Tel Aviv.

To get more of a nuts-and-bolts discussion about how she approaches the work of couples therapy, you should watch the hour-long interview that I saw on Psychotherapy Networker. I was surprised to find this on YouTube since you can usually only access these interviews by registering on their site.

If you have a serious interest in exploring the latest thinking and practice ideas in psychotherapy, I urge you to sign up at Psychotherapy Networker. You can watch free rebroadcasts of their continuing education courses for therapists – the Hedy Schleifer video is one of six in their course on couples therapy.