April 2020
Springer have just published 'Couple Relationships in a Global Context: Understanding Love and Intimacy Across Cultures' which includes a chapter I wrote about online couple psychotherapy. The chapter explores online therapy with couples who, for various reasons, choose to reside in two separate household. This chapter makes timely reading for couple therapists working online who might find themselves working with couples living apart because of the measures in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The situation created by the pandemic has forced many therapist to move their practice online and some of the insights shared in this chapter will have relevance in spite of the unprecedented nature of the current situation. Even those couples who live in long term LAT arrangement normally sustain their relationship with regular relationship-maintaining meetings made possible by the efficiency of modern transport. This is now in jeopardy and many couples are either forced to live away from one another or have transitioned from a LAT arrangement to sharing a home with little time for the necessary adjustments. Sensitivity to these new realities needs to be foremost in the couple therapist's mind.