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Would You Like to See Polly in Dialogue Therapy?

Dialogue Therapy was developed by Polly and her late-husband Ed Epstein, specifically to increase trust and emotional space between partners or other adult pairs. Increasing trust allows love to be renewed and playfulness to be restored. Twenty-first century relationships present a unique set of expectations when it comes to equality, authenticity, reciprocity, and accurate witnessing. All adults who are in equal relationships—spouses, partners, siblings, grown children and parents, friends, co-workers—want to be seen and heard accurately, instead of being misperceived, due to bias, indifference, or stereotypes. Building and maintaining trust in a mutually respectful and equal relationship requires more than just "better communication” or secure attachment, which are commonly the focus of couple counseling. It requires breaking through projective identification and developing skills for respectful conflict through the capacity to be mindful, insightful, and self-reflective, even in the midst of emotional activation (triggering). Polly has written many books on these issues, but recently she has published Love Between Equals: Relationship as a Spiritual Path (2019) and, with co-author Jean Pieniadz, Dialogue Therapy For Couples and Real Dialogue for Opposing Sides: Methods Based on Psychoanalysis and Mindfulness (2022).

Polly sees couples and other adult pairs (grown child and parent, siblings, friends) in Dialogue Therapy (which is structured and time-limited) in both regular sessions (see Consent Form here for description and sequence of the sessions) or Intensive Weekends (typically involving 18-20 hours of the same sequence of sessions). 

-Her fee for regular sessions is $250 per hour ($125 per person), offered only in two-hour time slots. 

-Her fee for Intensive Weekends is $500 per hour ($250 per person), due to the intensive format and working on the weekend. 

Because Polly does not offer tele-health sessions (except as follow-up from Intensive Weekends), seeing her requires coming to her office in central Vermont.

If you want to make an inquiry or schedule an appointment for the Evaluation Sessions in Dialogue Therapy (required to begin), or make an inquiry about an Intensive Weekend, please contact Polly here through her website.

We live in a world of deaf ears, isolated silos, and grotesque caricature. For democracy to survive, we need to find ways to listen deeply, see others’ points of view, respect differences, and generate creative dialogue...Real Dialogue has implications that extend far beyond couple therapy.”
— Prof Jeremy Holmes MD, University of Exeter, UK

 
 

Dialogue Therapy for Couples and Real Dialogue for Opposing Sides: Methods Based on Psychoanalysis and Mindfulness by Jean Pieniadz, Ph.D. & Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D. is available now!

Get 20% off - Use code FLR40 at checkout.

 

 

Advance Praise for Dialogue Therapy for Couples and Real Dialogue for Opposing Sides by Jean Pieniadz, Ph.D. & Polly Young-Eisendrath, Ph.D.

 
Drs. Pieniadz and Young-Eisendrath are on the pioneering edge with their elegant and highly effective model of Dialogue Therapy and Real Dialogue. As someone who has worked for years to help heal the broken-hearted and offers hope to those who steadfastly believe in love despite their many bumps and bruises along the way, I’m thrilled to discover this graceful, heartfelt, compellingly simple, yet brilliantly deep work to awaken our ability to grow greater levels of compassion and care between us. These two superb luminaries are my new relationship gurus.
— Katherine Woodward Thomas, M.A., MFT & New York Times bestselling author of Conscious Uncoupling: 5 Steps to Living Happily Ever After & Calling in “The One:” 7 Weeks to Attract the Love of Your Life

Pay Attention to Awakening

stop polarization, get closer, and end war.

Our awakenings through spiritual enlightenment, psychedelics, and near death experiences all teach us the same things: we are not separate, we are not solo. We need each other in order to know ourselves and yet, we rarely agree about our perceptions, beliefs, or the truth. We cannot find our truths alone. We are too one-sided and limited. We need our sisters and brothers to discover whether we are accumulating wisdom or delusion, every step of the way. Pay Attention in Relationships will teach you how to follow the rich and winding path that unfolds in your life/death every day.

I am very happy you have found my work and are in my community. I have developed a body of work that is the product of many decades of inquiry, teaching, writing, psychotherapy, and Buddhist practice. In these past five years, I have been expanding my reach through a free podcast, YouTube interviews, and online courses, many of which have been offered for free. I am asking now for your support for my work.

What inspires me is my belief in the power of transformative conflict. Meaningful conflict (at home, at work, and in the world) is the fire that drives a deeper love. We yearn to embrace our differences and see things through a new lens. By humanizing our conflicts, finding out about the “other side,” we deepen our engagement with the Golden Rule and discover what we can’t know alone. This is the work of Real Dialogue.

I look forward to meeting you. I hope my work supports you. I know that human life is imperfect and impermanent. I wish you greater ease, peace, and comfort through practicing Real Dialogue. Through it we can stop polarization, get closer, and end war. Supporting my work supports those opportunities for others and yourself.