Couples Therapist's Own Marriage Collapses During Session About Communication

Licensed marriage and family therapist Dr. Gerald Dyad's own marriage ended during a couples therapy session he was conducting, when his wife texted him the words 'I'm filing tomorrow' while he was mid-sentence explaining the Gottman Method's concept of 'turning toward your partner.' 'He was telling us about emotional bids,' said client Amy Boundary. 'He said when your partner reaches out, you can turn toward them, turn away, or turn against them. Then his phone buzzed and he looked at it and all the color drained from his face. He said excuse me, I need to turn toward something.' Dr. Dyad stepped out of the session for approximately twelve minutes, during which time the clients, Mark and Amy Boundary, reported hearing 'muffled argumentation' followed by what sounded like 'a man explaining attachment theory to someone who is no longer listening.' When Dr. Dyad returned, he attempted to resume the session but was visibly distracted. 'He asked us how our week was going,' said Mark Boundary. 'We said it was going better than his. He didn't laugh. We've never seen a therapist not laugh at a client's joke. That's when we knew it was serious.' Dr. Dyad's colleagues have rallied to support him, though several have noted the irony. 'He wrote the book on couples communication,' said colleague Dr. Patricia Empathy. 'Literally. He wrote a book called Talk to Each Other. It's in its third printing. His wife is cited in the acknowledgments.' Dr. Dyad has continued seeing clients but has temporarily removed the framed poster in his office that reads 'The quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life.' It has been replaced with a landscape painting. 'I am still an effective couples therapist,' Dr. Dyad said. 'Physicians can treat illness without being immortal. I can treat communication problems without being married. The two are unrelated.' His receptionist noted that three couples have cancelled their appointments since the news spread. Four new ones have booked, citing 'curiosity.'