"In 1988, Betty Berzon's Permanent Partner was widely hailed as the first significant book aimed at helping lesbian and gay couples build fulfilling relationships. Now, drawing on additional insights gained in the intervening years, she provides specific advice for those in long-term relationships who are coping with the inevitable surprises and complications that arise in a relationship that passes the crucial three-year mark. Dr. Berzon discusses couples' fears of growing intimacy or of the loss of identity, and their concerns about waning sexual desire or "predator" others. Since gay and lesbian partners have few models to guide them, couples too often opt for ending the relationship rather than learning to work through their problems." "Dr. Berzon's goal, of course, is to help people work it out - not bail out - and to that end she offers effective strategies for reviving a relationship that has gone stale; coping with change and transition in one partner that the other sees as betrayal; understanding the true motives behind a fight that is repeated over and over; opening lines of communication blocked by some unresolved issue; managing external pressures, such as family, career, or children, and internal pressures, such as anxiety, depression, or anger; and learning about couples counseling and how it can help provide stability, continuity, and renewal." "While addressing these issues, Dr. Berzon weaves in the story of her own long-term relationship. She deals too with the question of monogamy, and though she encourages gays and lesbians to intensify the pleasures and comforts of permanent relationships, she provides ideas for how best to deal with an open relationship when that is what a couple decides to have."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved