This book - so rich in theoretical and clinical revelation - provides deep insight into the author's approach to couples therapy. Readers at any level of practice will come away with a much expanded, greatly empowered perspective on how to work with couples effectively and how to maintain personal balance in the face of the many complex problems that can arise over the course of treatment.

At once pluralistic and coherent, Jerry Lewis' approach draws heavily on psychoanalytic object relations psychology, with a focus on how couples negotiate core issues related to separateness-autonomy and connectedness-intimacy. He walks readers through the actual assessment and treatment scenario, stopping along the way to clarify and support important points. The basic intervention methodology is anchored by a three-stage process, which is carefully described.

Through the use of a fluid and flexible approach that builds on the nuances of healing interaction - without diminishing the essential quality of conflict - Dr. Lewis demonstrates the power of therapeutic alliance in establishing trust, instilling hope, and finding relief. Practitioners and students alike will find in Marriage as a Search for Healing a host of new ideas to further inform and inspire clinical thinking.