The most critical part of effective couples work is getting to the core truth of the relationship fast and powerfully enough to emotionally "hook" both parties and offer them an initial map out of their current impasse. In this workshop, you'll learn an economical and precise method for penetrating to the central conflict of the marriage and constructing a relational diagram of the couple's interaction that provides the basis for a therapeutic contract. You'll learn to identify the "blatant" and the "latent" behaviors in each partner that reinforce the couple's negative cycle and challenge the "five losing strategies"—being right, controlling your partner, unbridled self-expression, retaliation, and denial—that keep couples stalemated. At the end of the workshop, you'll have a template for an intervention that quickly intensifies the couple's emotional commitment to change and provides a clear road map for how to make it happen. (This session will continue with Workshop 522.)