Initiator-Inquirer Process

Managing Control Issues in Couples Therapy

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When therapists ask me which tool has had the biggest impact on couples around the world, the answer is always the same: the Initiator–Inquirer (I-I) Process. It

Working with Early Trauma in the Initiator-Inquirer

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When you are doing Initiator-Inquirer sessions, be sure to watch how partners function in their assigned roles. The combination of the role and each partner’s functioning will

Helplessness Underlies Many Control Struggles

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I am pleased that many readers took the time to think about the last transcript I posted. I enjoyed reading your perspectives and seeing your comments about

Holding Developmental Tension

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Leading the way when couples are lost in their own issues How often do you encounter couples who are so deeply entangled with each other that they

The Labyrinth of Love – The Path to a Soulful Relationship

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By Chelsea Wakefield, PhD, LCSW Chelsea Wakefield is an Associate Professor and Director of the Couples Center at the Psychiatric Research Institute of the University of Arkansas

A Couples Therapy Session After Infidelity: Transcript of a Role-play, Part Two

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I’ve been highlighting ways I’ve used Initiator-Inquirer when working with couples who have experienced infidelity. Recently I shared a role play with a couple we called Logan

Using a Developmental Approach and the Initiator-Inquirer Process with Cases of Infidelity

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Few situations are as painful for a couple, and as difficult for a couples’ therapist to work through as the experience of infidelity. The bottom-line questions you’ll

Using Initiator-Inquirer to Support Growth in Couples

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One of the reasons I find the Initiator-Inquirer process especially valuable in our work with couples is that it exposes so much about where they are developmentally.