THE USE OF VOICE FOR ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION IN COUPLES THERAPY

A method for assessment and intervention with couples using the concep t of voice and the epistemological categories described in Women's Way s of Knowing (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986) is present ed. Power imbalances within a relationship are inevitable when uneven skills of voice and/or empathy prevail. A case study is used to illust rate (1) the concept of voice and what it looks like in therapy, (2) t he problems that emerge when voice and/or empathy styles are uneven or incompatible, and (3) the connection between voice and the holding of power within relationships. Strategies for working with couples havin g unequal voice are presented.