The Importance of Communication in Catholic Marriage Therapy

Welcome to Episode 122 of the Being Human Podcast: There Is No Real Marriage Therapy

On this week's podcast, Dr. Greg continues to uncover issues in the secular field of psychology by breaking open ways that marriage therapy as it exists today lacks what is necessary to truly support married couples. First on the list? Lack of a proper understanding of marriage.

Discussed in this episode:

• The purpose of marriage;

• How all "marriage therapy" research, publications, modalities, and techniques are not actually focused on marriage;

• The lack of understanding about what it means to be a man or woman made in God's image in a vocation leading to union with Him;

• What's missing from Relationship Enhancement Therapy, Gottman Institute research, and Imago Institute theory;

• Catholic magisterial teaching on marriage vs. misinformation commonly taught;

• What does it mean that through marriage we're called to become saints?

• How errors in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas related to women have impacted our understanding of gender roles;

• The current demonization of masculinity as a retaliation against the demonization of women in the past;

• The importance of the complementarity between men and women in marriage;

• What does a truly Catholic marriage therapy look like?

Resources mentioned or relevant:

• Register for our upcoming Open House to learn more about the new CPMAP certification!

• Church documents referenced:

• Mulieris Dignitatum by Pope St. John Paul II

• Amoris Laetitia by Pope Francis

• Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church On the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World, by Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

• The Theology of the Body by Pope St. John Paul II

• Sections of the Summa Theologiae referenced:

• The production of the woman (Prima Pars, Q. 92)

• The vices opposed to perseverance (Secunda Secundae Partis, Q. 138)

• Episode #96: Yes, I Was Wrong (Dialectic w/ Brian Butler);

• Episode #75: Gender Fluidity or Complementarity (part one of a four-part series);

• The Gottman Institute, Imago Relationship Therapy, Relationship Enhancement Model;

• Need help? Schedule a free 15-minute consultation call with someone on our team to discuss how we can support you;

• Learn about IDDM (Mentorship), our new model of accompaniment;

• Sign up for Being Human, our weekly newsletter, to stay up to date on the exciting developments at CatholicPsych;

• Visit our website to read the CatholicPsych blog, shop in the CatholicPsych bookshop, or discover other resources we have available;

• Download The Integrated App for access to free audio exercises, the Catholic Mindfulness Virtual Retreat, courses, prayer resources, and more;

• Become a member of the Integrated Life Community to get access to every course Dr. Greg has created, plus the opportunity to participate in Integrated LIVE's - weekly, Mentor hosted Q&As covering topics like boundaries, communication, trauma, forgiveness, and more!

Contact us! Have a topic or a question you would like Dr. Greg to address on the podcast? Want to give some feedback about this episode? Email us at beinghuman@catholicpsych.com - we would love to hear from you!

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