As people monitor their wallets more closely and are generally busier than ever, there is an increased value in finding cost effective and time saving solutions to any number of things, including premarital counseling. This, in conjunction with the upswing of the popularity of downloadable eBooks, means great timing for the availability of a premarital counseling workbook (eBook) that couples can buy online, download and print for use in a very short amount of time.

Therapy-At-Home Workbooks™: Premarital Counseling is the first in a series of planned workbooks on a number of individual and relationship therapy topics by Marriage and Family Therapist, Lisa Brookes Kift. Lisa is in private practice in San Diego, California, providing individual therapy and couples counseling. She has also written numerous articles about various relationship and mental health topics which can be found on her website www.lisakifttherapy.com. Her goal is to provide useful hands-on tools that provide therapeutic assistance, as much as possible without the advantage of being in a therapist’s office, via user friendly workbooks. She chose the eBook format after reading an article about the rise in eBook popularity and greater ease in getting her work to the public than traditional book publishing.

The central focus of Lisa’s premarital counseling work is her conceptualization of the components that make up a strong relationship foundation. They include the presence of emotional safety, relationship balance and an understanding of relationship logistics/expectations. “My ideas around what makes up a healthy relationship foundation seem to resonate with the couples I work with – and help them create deeper connections.” These principles are weaved through out Therapy-At-Home Workbooks™: Premarital Counseling. She provides communication tools at the beginning to assist couples in navigating through the more potentially difficult areas and has created numerous worksheets and self-test for couples to do alone then bring together for discussion. Lisa provides written guidance and commentary throughout in a conversational style. She is clear in stating that “therapy at home” isn’t for everyone and doesn’t recommend her workbook for higher conflict couples or those who have deeper unresolved family of origin concerns that are playing out in their relationships. She recommends finding a local relationship therapist in these cases.

Lisa Brookes Kift has been a Featured Writer in numerous popular online mental health and relationship oriented websites and a Relationship Expert in several well known forums. For the last few years, Lisa has enjoyed blogging on her personal therapy blog, Notes from a Therapist’s Chair: The Therapy and Counseling Blog, an eclectic mix of stream of consciousness, useful informational tidbits on issues around her therapy work, personal life disclosures as they relate to her profession and questions thrown out to her blog readers. Her therapy and writing style is down to earth and “real” as she believes in the therapeutic power of the therapist being seen as “human.”

Lisa credits her zeal for the therapy and writing professions to the decision to leave her ten year career as a Hollywood Assistant Director – for work that provides true meaning for her. Lisa was a Hollywood 2nd Assistant Director throughout her twenties having worked on such films as Tombstone, Gods and Monsters, The Thin Red Line, and A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). The influence of her psychiatrist father, many years spent working in a career that was “against her grain” and time spent doing her own therapy with nurturing and supportive therapists forged a natural path to her present career. She is committed and passionate about helping people resolve their individual issues and have more satisfying relationships either in her private practice or via her writing.