A NOTE FROM JASON:

Greetings, this is the final episode of the first leg of this three part journey. Today we wrap up with our first couple Bart and Susan.  

In this first series of episodes, there has been a conversation going on behind the scenes with my producer Carolyn Sharp. The conversation has been about not only the content of what you have heard so far but also a more general conversation about this nascent podcast.

Carolyn is a level 3 PACT therapist out of Seattle, Washington and like I say at the end of the episode, she is one of my go-to people for honest truth. She does it with humor and humility and I have so appreciated her insights in bringing you these episodes.  

So, as we say goodbye to Bart and Susan and get ready to move on to the next couple, Carolyn and I thought that it would be good to give you a sense of the behind the scenes conversation and talk more generally about the process of making these episodes.  

A listening note for those who are keeping score at home:

The question I am answering this season is of course-- “How does a couples therapist learn to do that?!?”   And over the course of the Bart and Susan interviews this question has evolved and been refined.

It began with the issue as Bart and Susan initially presented it:-- How does a couples therapist learn to deal with differences around money, time and work within a couple?Then after the first clinical interview it became:-- How does a couples therapist learn to manage feelings of inadequacy in a couple?And, then in the final interview with Bart and Susan:-- How does a couples therapist learn to navigate a void that has developed in a couple?

In this episode, we refine the question further to:-- How does a couples therapist learn to help a couple that presents with one person who is over functioning and the other who is under functioning?

Hint:  It’s not as simple as getting the under functioning person to just function better.  I like this as the final question for Bart and Susan because it seems to hold the complexity of their struggles  and has a logical simplicity.  

Try it on for size and let me know what you think.