I’m reading Marriage Rules by Harriet Lerner. I enjoyed her book Dance of Anger. She seems to have a lot of respect out there in the world. I think her rules are great in theory, but even as a couples therapist, I am stuck pondering: how do these rules apply in my clients’ relationships? Or even my own relationships? It’s one thing to have a set of ethics or rules or morals or values, but as I think more on this, even within the BCACC Code of Ethical Conduct that governs my practice as a Registered Clinical Counsellor, we spend months as therapists and psychologists in training, discussing ethical dilemmas and how the Code of Conduct applies to real life circumstances. It is one thing to have a set of rules. It is a whole other thing to figure out how those rules apply in specific circumstances. I feel the same about this book. Great in theory. Totally lost in practice without conversation.
