Latest / Doing The Work from Naples Integrated Recovery
Why Knowing Your Relationship Pattern Doesn’t Stop It
Couples can know exactly how their arguments go and still feel powerless to stop them. This episode explores the negative cycle in Emotionally Focused Therapy, including Sue Johnson’s “Protest Polka,” the pursue-withdraw pattern, Gottman’s bids for connection, and how criticism, defensiveness, silence, and pressure begin feeding each other. It explains how a missed bid or small moment of disconnection can take on much greater meaning once both partners start anticipating rejection, failure, criticism, or abandonment.
We also look at why insight alone often fails once the nervous system is…
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