Contributed by William Doherty
De-escalating Disputes
How Therapists Can Stop Runaway ConflictExploring “high conflict” with a bigger picture in mind. Read more
The Heart of an Affair
A Conversation with Bill DohertyBill Doherty talks with Networker on how to help clients get clarity around the ethical dimensions of secret affairs and the dilemmas that often show up in... Read more
Getting at the Heart of Affairs
How to Help Clients Examine Ethical DilemmasA seasoned therapist discusses the ethics around consulting with couples impacted by infidelity. Read more
Therapy in the Age of Trump
Becoming "Connectors and Trust-Builders"William Doherty offered an expanded vision of therapy and outlined concrete steps therapists can take as “connectors and trust-builders” to address the... Read more
The Fox and the Hedgehog
Flexibility and Focus in the Therapy RoomAs a therapist, is it better to adapt an eclectic approach or specialize in the one you believe in most? Perhaps the answer isn’t as simple as it seems. Read more
Bowing Out
The Dilemma of UncouplingIf a loving couple shares a relationship history with no major deal-breaker issues, is “uncoupling” the best path? Read more
VIDEO: Bill Doherty on Deepening Our Therapeutic Vision
The Importance of Cultivating a New Kind of SelfAt the 2016 Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, Bill Doherty offered his take on how psychotherapy can reassert its cultural relevance by deepening its vision... Read more
VIDEO: Becoming a "Citizen Therapist"
Working Beyond the Consulting RoomHow does your work as a therapist contribute to the wider world? It’s a question couples and family therapist Bill Doherty asks his colleagues... Read more
VIDEO: Is Therapy Really a Science?
...Or is It a Conversational Craft?What do the masters of truly good therapy have in common? According to couples therapist Bill Doherty, they know how to balance their desire to guide therapy... Read more
VIDEO: What Therapy and Surgery Have in Common
Crafting the Right Language for the Right OutcomeWhat’s the best way to open and close therapy? It’s a question with many answers, but depending on your client, a particular... Read more
VIDEO: Bill Doherty on Becoming a "Citizen Therapist"
How to Have a Conversation About Politics in TherapyIn the following clip from his Symposium Keynote address, William Doherty offers an expanded vision of therapy and explains why clinicians are uniquely suited... Read more
VIDEO: Addressing Political Stress in the Consulting Room
Reevaluating What's Appropriate to Discuss in TherapyIt's no surprise that, with all the political infighting going on, many people are anxious about the direction of our country. But is there room to discuss... Read more
Therapy and Transformation
What Are We Promising Our Clients?Decades ago, trainees in our field were imbued with the notion that therapy was about transformation: big, dramatic changes in the direction of... Read more
Is There Hope for a Divided America?
Tales from the Better Angels Bus TourThere’s a troubling trend toward viewing people who differ from us politically not just as uninformed or misguided, but as ill-motivated and dangerous... Read more
VIDEO: Bill Doherty on the Rewards of Civic Commitment
Creating Space for a Conversation About Civic CommitmentsSometimes our clients have commitments to groups or causes that enrich their lives and social connections. But very often, says couples therapist Bill... Read more
VIDEO: Bill Doherty on the New Challenges of Social Engagement
Being an Effective, Ethical Therapist in an Age of Political UpheavalWhat does it mean to be a dutiful citizen and an effective therapist in the modern day? This is the central question Bill Doherty posed in his keynote address... Read more
Psychotherapy's Pilgrimage
Shaping the Consciousness of Our TimeDespite what grad school textbooks may imply, therapy movements are more than a set of theories and techniques. They’re about what it means to be a human... Read more
VIDEO: When One Partner Wants Out
Discernment Counseling for the Mixed-Agenda CoupleIn at least 30 percent of couples who come to therapy, partners enter the consulting room with different agendas---one wants a divorce, the other wants to save... Read more
The Remarriage Triangle
Working with Later-Life Recouplers and their Grown ChildrenTherapists need to be prepared to go against the conventional clinical wisdom in helping later-life recouplers and stepfamilies handle the unique challenges... Read more
Reflections on the Divorce Revolution
Assessing Our ImpactAre you a therapist that's "marriage friendly?" It's the inclination towards helping clients in good relationships stay together. Read more
To stay relevant in a changing world, we need to address the engagement styles of today’s prospective clients. Read more
VIDEO: What to Do When Therapy Stalls
Bill Doherty on Handling the Issue of Progress Before it's a CrisisBill talks about a proactive approach that can lead to positive developments when therapy starts to stall. Read more
Life After Betrayal
Getting Past the Victim IdentityWhen working with clients who’ve experienced an intimate betrayal, it’s important to empower them to move beyond a victim identity. Read more
When Therapy Is Going Nowhere
Escaping the “Groundhog Day” CycleWhy do we get stuck in “Groundhog Day therapy”—cases in which we spin our wheels from session to session? Before lurching on to alternative treatment... Read more
One Brick at a Time
Therapy is More Craft Than Art or ScienceIn this era of medical necessity and evidence-based therapies, it’s easy to lose sight of a basic truth. We heal not through prescriptions and procedures... Read more
In Or Out?
Treating the Mixed-Agenda CoupleAt least 30 percent of couples coming to therapy have fundamentally different agendas about whether to try to save the marriage. If we’re ever going to... Read more
Couples on the Brink
Stopping the Marriage-Go-RoundLet’s face it: psychotherapy isn’t dramatic, and most therapists don’t rate high on a “need for thrills” scale. Someone... Read more
Beyond the Consulting Room
Therapists as catalysts of social changeToo much is at stake these days for us to take refuge in our practices after the election. In such challenging times, therapists need to create for themselves... Read more
Fixing Health Care
What Role Will Therapists Play?The crisis in healthcare delivery presents therapists with a unique opportunity to help revamp the system and expand their practices. Read more
Finding the Right Lever
A primer for Changing the WorldA veteran therapist offers lessons on how any therapist can get started in trying to make a difference in the wider world. Read more
Bad Couples Therapy
Betting Past the Myth of Therapist NeutralityA dirty little secret in the therapy field is that couples therapy may be the hardest form of therapy, and most therapists aren't good at it. Of course, this... Read more
Divided Loyalty
The Challenge of Stepfamily LifeStepfamilies enact unique morality plays with plots involving, betrayal, heroic commitment and Solomon-like discernment. They Illuminate like no other family... Read more
The Good Therapist
Continually Reassessing Its Role, Psychotherapy Gallops into a New EraThe culture of therapy in America has gone through periods of dramatic change every 15 or 20 years with almost clock-like regularity, as succeeding generations... Read more
William Doherty
William Doherty, PhD, is professor of family social science and director of the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project at the University of Minnesota. He’s the author of the forthcoming book, The Ethical Lives of Clients: Transcending Self-Interest in Psychotherapy.