Demystifying Love Plain Talk for the Mental Health Professional [Paperback]

Intended primarily for mental health professionals, Demystifying Lovedeals plainly with topics rarely written about for clinicians. As the book shows, love is the logical point of departure for a clinical understanding of sexuality and its problems. It is the most conventional framework for understanding sexual behaviors, the one that is broadly endorsed across many cultures, often as the ideal context for sexual expression. The book integrates an analysis of love in patients dealing with intimacy, sexual desire, infidelity, forgiveness and reconciliation. Detailed with compelling case studies, the authors skill as a therapist comes through in the discussion of these topicsmany of which are at the heart of numerous couple problems.

Preface. The Nouns of Love. The Verbs of Love. Professional Humility and the Erotic Transference. The Path to Love: Psychological Intimacy. Sexual Desire: Simplicity and Complexity. Infidelity: Vital Background Concepts. Infidelity: The Work of the Therapist. Love is Connection-Disconnection-Reconnection. Index.

The special gift of this book is to recognize and address the complexity of love, particularly how it relates to sexual desire over the lifespan. Of great value are Dr. Levines guidelines for staying in love. His two chapters about infidelity are clinically rich in detail with valuable insights into the role and meaning of extramarital involvements.Demystifying Love is one of the most thought provoking books for clinicians in recent years. - Barry McCarthy, author of Rekindling Desireand Professor of Psychology, American University, USA

An illuminating account of the multi-layered complexity of the elusive reality we call love. Especially useful is Levines account of love as a process of conl3t