The Power of Two Workbook: Communication Skills for a Strong & Loving Marriage

The Power of Two Workbook teaches the communication and conflict resolution skills that can enable you to enjoy a great marriage. With this practical step-by-step guide you'll learn how to evoke interest, not antagonism, when you speak about sensitive issues; and to listen without becoming defensive. You'll discover secrets to effective dialogue, techniques for cleaning up after inadvertent "toxic spills," and ways to ensure that apologies yield healing--plus you'll learn the three-step waltz of smooth shared decision-making, how to keep the anger ceiling low, and strategies for converting moments of anger into powerful opportunities for learning and growth.

With each chapter you'll acquire key skills for a happier, more gratifying marriage. A host of engaging practice exercises give you a chance to repeat each skill often enough that it can become yours.

Susan Heitler, Ph.D., a Denver clinical psychologist, specializes in helping couples build strong marriages. Her book for couples The Power of Two, which has been published globally in five languages, forms the basis both for this workbook and for Power of Two Marriage Skills Workshops (see www.PowerOfTwo.org). Dr. Heitler's earlier book From Conflict to Resolution and her master therapist video The Angry Couple are staples in marriage counseling training programs, and her self-help audiotapes (see www.TherapyHelp.com) have helped thousands of listeners. Dr. Heitler and her husband, blessed with four children and ever-increasing numbers of grandchildren, have enjoyed over thirty years of strong and loving marriage.

Abigail Hirsch is a teacher and math curriculum writer who now is completing her Ph.D., as a clinical psychologist. She used her teaching and curriculum-development background to cocreate The Power of Two Marriage Skills Workshops and then this workbook, both of which augment the book The Power of Two, written by her mother, Dr. Susan Heitler. Abigail, her husband, and their two young sons live with Abigail's paternal grandparents on a tree farm.