PACT

Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT)

(PACT) relies on the application of research in developmental neuroscience, attachment theory, and arousal regulation. This approach, which was developed by Dr. Stan Tatkin, helps couples notice their reactions as they occur and learn how to better address one another’s attachment needs.

I trained in the PACT model and achieved level 2 training in 2020.

PACT focus on moment-to-moment shifts in your face, body, and voice, and ask you to pay close attention to these as a couple. All of this strengthens a couple of each other, working together as a unit.

Couples seeking professional help to address their marriage or relational issues and/or develop or strengthen a long-term relationship may find PACT a helpful approach.

Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy (PACT)

How can PACT help?

PACT is a form of couples therapy and as such is not designed to treat individual issues such as depression, anxiety or PTSD on an individual level. However, PACT can address the ways in which a range of issues might have an impact on a couple’s relationship.

Rather than targeting specific relationship issues, PACT addresses the ways that attachment styles and psychobiological makeup can affect interactions. Feelings of intense anger in one partner can trigger fear in the other partner, for example, and may influence behavior. Even as concerns—and the stories couples tell themselves about those concerns—change over time, the emotional reactions may persist.

PACT addresses the emotions, the subtle behaviors they trigger, the physiological experiences they engender, and the resulting effects on the relationship, teaching the couple how to observe and understand these specific biological patterns.