366

Book Reviews

the ISIS Wheel in groups, in individual therapy and with couples. Part 4 provides information
for therapists interested in expanding their ISIS training personally and professionally.
Expanding the practice of sex therapy is not only about expanding treatment methods
or approaches. Ogden invites the reader to expand oneself as a therapist. Journeying
through the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components of our own experiences
compels us to confront our own stuck places. Some may find it challenging to read the
spirituality section, fearing encounter with Wiccans and Pagans or assuming religious
connotation. However, Ogden presents this section fully aware that some may enter it
hesitatingly, skeptically or with a raised brow. She provides a frame for multiple and
diverse ways of experiencing deeper meaning, whether through mindful merging of the
physical experience with the mental and emotional components (the center) or an intimate connection with another (ecstatic oneness) and through the sexual experience
itself. Ogden recognizes complexity and diversity and acknowledges that clients and
therapists may have different reactions to certain rituals. Hence, one leaves the section
with an understanding that there are multiple ways to frame spirituality and that not all of
us will be drumming on bongos in our treatment room.
Despite deep appreciation for the sacred, Ogdens guidelines for treatment are
didactic and practical. She explains the concepts of creating and holding space, what liminal space and clearing mean, and provides examples. She describes how to direct movement, create rituals and concretize abstract concepts. She provides case studies that
illustrate the usefulness of her approach clinically, but also how to interpret resistance
(such as when clients forget to bring in their objects).
Of particular significance is Ogdens description of her journey with her client,
Annette, who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from childhood sex abuse, and experienced severe physical pain with sexual arousal. Annettes passage through the Wheel transformed her by the recognition of the pleasurable places in
her soul and the disconnected places of her body. Her disconnection from her body, a process that had been pathologized as a dysfunctional dissociative disorder, was identified
and reframed as a journey into her spirit. Helping her to move in and out of her mind,
body and spirit allowed her to experience pleasure with minimal pain.
For anyone unfamiliar with Gina Ogden and her wisdom, this book is a must read. For
those who eschew concepts such as shamanism and spirituality as belonging to the
realm of the woo-woo, this book will offer the opportunity to expand the readers comfort
zone and learn valuable skills. For those who are already familiar with Ogden and the
ISIS Wheel, this book is an additional station on that journey.
Talli Y. Rosenbaum
Department of Physical and Sexual Therapy Inner Stability, Ltd., Bet Shemesh, Israel
Email: talli@tallirosenbaum.com
2013, Talli Y. Rosenbaum
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2013.853875

Cognitive behavioral therapy with couples and families, by Frank M. Datillo, New
York, NY, Guilford Press, 2013, 282 pp., paperback, ISBN 978-1-4625-1416-8
Dr Datillo, one of the leading figures in clinical psychology and cognitive behavioral
therapy (CBT), expands on his previous books by carefully balancing the theory and technique of CBT, originally conceived and designed for individuals, into a multifaceted and

Book Reviews

367

holistic approach for couples and families. This book begins by cogently and meticulously laying out the development of CBT, and its evolution as an effective treatment for
a multiplicity of disorders and psychoses.
CBT with couples and families has now entered the mainstream of contemporary family therapy and prominently appears in the majority of textbooks in the field. Though not
without its critics, CBT has become highly thought of primarily because of extensive
research providing validated clinical evidence of its effectiveness. One of Datillos main
points is the general effectiveness of CBT with families and couples through a special
emphasis on schema therapy techniques, such as expanding into an imagery dialogue
between the schema side and the healthy side.
Through a wide range of clinical examples and research studies, Datillo demonstrates
that well-established CBT methods can be modified and applied for use in couples therapy in order to identify distorted cognitions that partners experience about each other. In
a similar fashion, behavioral approaches to family therapy were broadened to include
family members cognition about one another. The book offers examples of important
schemas for working with couples and families, which address the core themes that reflect
the relationship dynamics and dysfunctions. By addressing these themes in an analytic
and structured fashion, schema therapy helps patients make sense of conflict, marital gridlock, and dysfunctional interaction patterns that contribute to relationship problems.
When family members selectively attend to negative aspects of one another, this can
have a damaging effect on their relationship, because distressed family members have a
propensity to perceive other members negative behavior as difficult to change. These
can become an overpowering focus that will remain fixtures in the relationships and often
become what some family members use to explain or justify their own behaviors in
response to other members negative behavior patterns.
The book is a useful tool for therapists in that it offers varying techniques and gives a
wide spectrum of issues and challenges which can be faced when attempting to use the
different interventions detailed within. Importantly, cultural diversity issues are woven
throughout the book, allowing the reader to be prepared for a variety of issues in different
contexts and situations. The book also provides useful and practical tools such as questionnaires and inventories, designed to offer readers a comprehensive guide to the practice of CBT with families.
This being said, if there is criticism, it is that Datillos book is a difficult read for those
unfamiliar with the intricacies of CBT therapy and lacks an engaging narrative that would
entice the interested observer to explore this often misunderstood form of therapy. Sometimes those who create new paths and theories of therapy need to also be great evangelists
for their ideas, and I remain uncertain that this book will accomplish the task of bringing
skeptics over to the authors way of thinking.
Ariella Perry, MSW
Clinical Therapist
ariellaperry@gmail.com
2014, Ariella Perry,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2014.909024

The dilemmas of intimacy: Conceptualization, assessment and treatment, by Karen J.

Prager, New York and London, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013, 304pp.,
$46.48, 31.99 (paperback), ISBN 0415816866

Copyright of Sexual & Relationship Therapy is the property of Routledge and its content may
not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's
express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.

Copyright of Sexual & Relationship Therapy is the property of Routledge and its content may
not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's
express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.