Constructing the Sexual Crucible: An Integration of Sexual and Marital Therapy

Schnarch has completed a Herculean task of exploring in depth the role of intimacy and sexuality (and spirituality). The sexual crucible model clearly is the most sophisticated model available today for marriage and sex therapists. His novel approach propells the field beyond the behavioral and technique focus that most therapist wouldn't even do if they had too. I was impressed that he attempted to address spirituality and some of his concepts in the final chapter are interesting. However, he falls into a simple dichotomy in analyzing religion which basically is a good/bad split. He really doesn't understand the depth of thought behind some of the previous great thinkers and sees them only through 20th century glasses, where they are easy targets. Overall, I strongly recommend this book to therapists. It is truly groundbreaking.

This book makes sense of the relationship between personal growth and intimacy with another. Schnarch describes how differentiation can be accelerated with the use of sexual intimacy. He gives the basis for a decision in favor of monogamy without one bit of moralism. A very exciting book