Compassion for Couples Building the Skills of Loving Connection

How resilient is your relationship? Do you and your partner go into "reactivity mode" when a conflict arises? Do you wish you were closer and more connected? We all need healthy, secure relationships in order to thrive--but they can be hard to build and maintain. Where do you start? According to marriage and family therapist Michelle Becker, the answer is with yourself. By learning to practice self-compassion, you are better able to respond to your partner with love and acceptance--even when they inevitably cannot meet your every need. This caring and insightful guide shows you how to stop defaulting to feelings of annoyance, disappointment, or detachment. Instead, using techniques from Becker’s renowned Compassion for Couples program (plus guided meditation practices with accompanying audio downloads) you will learn mindfulness, compassion, and other skills that bring you closer to your partner and enrich your lives together. For happy couples looking to strengthen their relationship, or those facing obstacles, Becker leads the way to greater trust, mutual understanding, and a renewed sense of warmth.

Michelle Becker, MA, LMFT, a marriage and family therapist in private practice in San Diego, is dedicated to helping people thrive in healthy, well-connected relationships. She is a teacher trainer and cofounder of the teacher training program at the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. Through workshops, podcasts, and online education, she shares the knowledge and tools required for people to relate to each other better. Her website is wisecompassion.com.
 

Foreword, Christopher Germer
Introduction
I. Start Where You Are: Understanding How Things Go Wrong in Relationships and How Things Get Better
1. We All Need to Be Loved
2. "Why Can't You Be Here for Me?": Understanding What Gets in the Way
3. "I Wish I Could Fix It!": Resisting Pain with Problem Solving 
4. "Do You Care?": Finding Safe Connection
5. "Who Will Love Me?": Ensuring That Compassion Is Always Available to You
II. Building a Foundation for Compassion in Your Relationship: Mindfulness, Common Humanity, and Kindness
6. Being Present: Mindfulness Skills to See Clearly and Quiet Reactivity
7. Cultivating Connection: Strength in Common Humanity
8. Getting What We Need: Kindness in Three Directions 
III. Putting It into Practice: Tailoring Compassion Skills to Your Relationship 
9. "What Really Matters to Us?": Rooting Your Relationship in Your Values
10. "How Can We Really Get Each Other?": Using Compassionate Communication Skills
11. "Can We Heal Our Wounds?": Cultivating the Conditions for Forgiveness
12. "How Do We Keep Our Love Alive?": Celebrating Positive Experiences Together
Resources
Notes
List of Audio Tracks
Index
 
Audio Downloads:
1. Finding Strength and Softness (5:25)
2. Uncovering Your Survival Strategies and How They Impact Your Partner (5:52)
3. Discovering Our Tendencies to Fix and Finding Vulnerability Underneath (4:57)
4. Discovering What’s Underneath Your Need to Control, What Your Partner Feels, and How to Speak from Vulnerability (3:29)
5. Finding the Strong Back of Compassion (3:57)
6. Finding the Soft Front of Compassion (4:31)
7. Discovering How We Treat Ourselves and Others (5:35)
8. Putting Self-Compassion into Practice with Mindfulness, Common Humanity, and Kindness (8:54)
9. Supportive Touch (4:31)
10. Soles of the Feet (4:10)
11. Awareness of Breath (7:41)
12. Awareness of Sound (5:38)
13. STOP (5:35)
14. Touching Hands (5:06)
15. Discovering Common Humanity (5:57)
16. Belonging (6:48)
17. Loving-Kindness for Couples (9:13)
18. Motivating Yourself with Compassion (12:22)
19. Soften, Soothe, and Allow (8:42)
20. Meeting Our Own Needs (4:47)
21. Discovering Your Core Values (5:16)
22. STOP and LOVE (13:43)
23. Forgiving Others (7:48)
24. Forgiving Yourself (7:22)
25. Gratitude for Your Partner (3:51)