Rule-Governed Speaker-Listener Technique
Rachel M. Diamond, Jay L. Lebow · 2016
Communication skills training* is commonly used within couple and family therapy (CFT) as a way of teaching clients to communicate in a manner that is safe and respectful. Speaker-listener (SL) technique is a specific method of communication skills training* that offers structure and rules for all parties attempting to verbally navigate difficult topics. This technique is typically used with couples, commonly in behavioral couple therapy programs, working on enhancing their relationship in therapy. A specific example of SL can be found within the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP; Markman et al. 2010 ), prevention and intervention program designed to teach premarital couples communication and problem-solving skills (see Stanley et al. 1997 ). This is an empirically supported module for improving communication and problem solving. Here, we suggest a variation on this method of SL to target partners experiencing...