A Tandem Approach: Marriage Counseling as Process in Tandem with Individual Psychotherapy

More attention must be paid to the marriage and family unit in the mental health field (Haley, 1975), however, working exclusively with that unit and ascribing the cause of behavior solely to the interpersonal system would only perpetuate another kind of one-sidedness. This paper presents a tandem approach, a form of combined treatment, that maintains a balanced perspective of the individual and marriage and family unit, provides a synthesis for intrapsychic and interpersonal theories of the causation of behavior, integrates the techniques of the modalities of individual psychotherapy and marriage counseling, and expedites the solution of underlying intrapsychic and interpersonal problems     

Divorce Counseling or Marriage Therapy? A Therapeutic Option

Divorce, if properly orchestrated by a specially trained therapist, can be a liberating experience that promotes, rather than undermines, family solidarity. Of course, a happy marriage is preferable to an amicable divorce, but some marriages are beyond repair. Gross incompatibility often leads to "emotional blackmail" and other coercive states within an unhappy marriage. The present paper, through the use of several case histories, addresses the foregoing issues and also delineates effective marital therapy strategies. The rationale and implementation of creative divorce counseling is also described.     

The AIAC,A Design for Systematically Analyzing Marriage and Family Counseling: A Progress Report*

The Allred Interaction Analysis for Counselors is an instrument for systematically analyzing counselors' and clients' verbal behaviors. It was constructed to provide marriage and family counselors-in-training a method for acquiring meaningful, objective feedback on their counseling behaviors. The interrater reliability coefficients have been high. Results of validity studies have been encouraging. Though the instrument was initially designed from analysis of structured family counseling, research indicates it may have rather wide application for many different counseling approaches and settings.     

Sex Role Stereotyping and Marriage Counseling*

Evidence that sex role stereotyping (SRS) reflects a strong negative valuation of women and is a factor in clinical evaluation raises the question of its affects upon evaluation and treatment in marriage counseling. The counseling literature was reviewed and although data on SRS was found, it seldom was related specifically to marriage counseling. The purpose of this paper is to consider the implications of SRS for marriage counselors in the light of current research findings on this issue. Suggestions for assisting counselors to deal with SRS in themselves and as professionals in the field of marriage counseling are presented.     

Circumplex Model of Marital Systems: An Empirical Study of Clinic and Non-clinic Couples

The interaction processes of twenty-five couples receiving marriage counseling were compared with a control group of twenty-five couples not receiving counseling. The study was a partial test of a circumplex model of marital and family systems. The major variable was adaptability. Creativity and support were also examined. The study also sought to evaluate the usefulness of the principal instrument, SIMFAM, as a behavioral indicator of marital adjustment and an assessment tool for marriage and family counselors. Under stressful circumstances, there was evidence that better adjusted couples have a more equalitarian leadership (relative control) pattern. A combination of high support and equalitarian leadership was especially characteristic of NC (non-clinic) couples. NC couples were significantly more creative, more supportive and more responsive to each other's attempts to influence each other (control efficiency) than clinic couples.     

The impact of discernment counseling on individuals who decide to divorce: experiences of post‐divorce communication and coparenting

Discernment counseling is designed to help couples considering divorce arrive at a greater sense of clarity and confidence in their decision making about the future of their marriage. Possible outcomes include making no change to the marriage, divorcing, or attempting reconciliation through couples therapy. To date, no research has been done on whether or not discernment counseling helps couples who decide to divorce with their post‐divorce family life (i.e., coparenting). We surveyed 11 people (from male–female couples) and conducted in‐depth interviews with eight who had undergone discernment counseling and subsequently divorced to see what impact discernment counseling had on their post‐divorce coparenting relationship. We analyzed the data from a phenomenological perspective. Respondents described their discernment counseling experience as helpful for achieving clarity and honesty in the divorce decision‐making process, they shared their appreciation for the structure of the intervention, and indicated that it led to a greater coparental cooperation post‐divorce.     

Becoming a Marriage, Family and Child Counselor: Notes from a Chicano

Becoming a licensed Marriage, Family and Child Counselor (MFCC) in California is presented from a Chicano's perspective based on the author's own training. He reports that 1) there is a need for Chicanos trained extensively in marriage and family counseling to serve the large Mexican American population; 2) MFCC is a growing profession yet few Chicanos are entering it; 3) few Chicano professionals are involved in the training, teaching and supervision of marriage and family counselors; and 4) the state licensing board and the two marriage and family counselors' associations do not identify minority counselors nor those who provide Spanish speaking services .     

Constructing a Life That Works: Part 1, Blending Postmodern Family Therapy and Career Counseling

Postmodern approaches to career counseling are well suited to addressing the challenges a postindustrial world poses to career development and overall life design. In this, the 1st of 2 articles exploring theory and practice, the authors examine the differences between traditional trait and factor models of career counseling and postmodern approaches using life narratives and social constructionism. As career counselors and marriage and family therapists, the authors' approach to career development integrates the literature on postmodern family therapy with emerging narrative approaches to career counseling. The 2nd article (C. Campbell & M. Ungar, 2004) discusses 7 aspects of the authors' daily practice as postmodern career counselors.     

Emerging Trends in Treating Relationships

Treating relationships has become the hallmark of increasing numbers of therapists in the last decade. The interest in the field of marriage and and family counseling is also reflected by the mushrooming number of theoretical and empirical publications. This paper reviews some of the conceptual and programmatic trends that are occurring and also highlights several of the trends in evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment.     

DOES ACADEMIC TRAINING BACKGROUND MAKE A DIFFERENCE AMONG PRACTICING MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS?

Using a national sample of practicing marriage and family therapists (MFTs) and their clients, this study investigated whether academic training background is associated with differences in pracice patterns and client outcomes. Clinical members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy with academic training in psychology, social work, counseling, and marriage and family therapy were compared on a wide range of clinical practice variables, and their clients were surveyed about thier satisfaction and outcomes. Results showed highly similar practice patterns and client outcomes across all four disciplinary groups. Although the findings showed little evidence for the uniqueness of academic marriage and family therapy training among experienced MFTs, they also refute the notion that therapists trained in MFT degree programs practice in unusual or inferior ways compared to MFTs trained originally in other mental health disciplines.     

Use of standardized assessment instruments in couple therapy: the role of attitudes and professional factors

The study examined therapeutic approach, professional affiliation, training, seniority, and work setting as predictors of attitudes toward standardized instruments and their use in couple therapy. Data were gathered from 163 certified marriage and family therapists in Israel. Results showed that 27.6% of marital therapists used standardized instruments for assessment. More positive attitudes toward standardized instruments were associated with the extent of training in their use and with a structural-strategic approach. Logistic regression analysis indicated that positive attitudes, training, and work setting best predict the application of standardized assessment instruments. Reasons for the relative lack of use of standardized assessment instruments are discussed. It is recommended that more training in assessment instruments be included in marriage and family therapy training.     

Helping HIV-positive persons to negotiate the disclosure process to partners, family members, and friends

For people who have been diagnosed with a chronic illness, one inevitable issue to be addressed is whether and how to share this information with others. For persons who are HIV positive, disclosure presents an especially arduous task. The purpose of this article is to offer a strategy to assist marriage and family therapists in facilitating client disclosure of an HIV-positive status to partners, family members, and friends. In addition, suggestions for setting the stage for disclosure to occur and recommendations for client follow-up are proposed.     

Abstracts

Bernstein, B. E. Lawyer and counselor as an interdisciplinary team: one lawyer's suggestions.
Brandwein, R. A., Brown, C. A. & Fox, E. M. Women and children last: the social situation of divorced women and their families.
Cookerly, J. R. The reduction of psychopathology as measured by the MMPI clinical scales in three forms of marriage counseling.
Denfeld, D. Dropouts from swinging.
Fulton, W. C. Counseling as an insured benefit: perspectives from the insurance industry.
Hurvitz, N. The family therapist as intermediary.
Raths, O. N., Bellville, T. P., Bellville, C. J. & Garetz, F. K. The counter-phobic mechanism as a force in mate selection and marital stability.
Rolfe, D. J. The financial priorities inventory.
Solomon, M. A. Resistance in family therapy: some conceptual and technical considerations.
Sonne, J. C. On the question of compulsory marriage counseling as a part of divorce proceedings.
Strauss, M. Leveling, civility, and violence in the family.
Weiss, R. L., Birchler, G. R., & Vincent, J. P. Contractual models for negotiation training in marital dyads.     

Assertion Training in Marital Counseling

Assertive behavior training is an evolving technique of great value to the marriage counselor. In this paper "assertive" behavior is differentiated from "non-assertive" and "aggressive" behavior in the text and an explanatory table. Specific components of behavior are identified, and techniques for facilitating assertiveness in clients are described in the context of marital counseling. Beginning with an illustrative example, the paper presents a step-by-step summary of the process and rationale for utilizing assertion training in marital counseling     

The Couple Relationship as the Focus of Sex Therapy: The Integration of Sex Therapy Ideas and Techniques with Marital and Family Therapy

The marriage and family therapist needs basic information about techniques used in sex therapy in order to deal with the sexual issues they may encounter in their practice. This paper outlines a method of incorporating the psychotherapeutic techniques presently used in sex therapy into the marriage and family counselling setting when there is a sexual issue involved. The paper is separated into (1) a discussion of the problem, (2) recovering the relationship as the focus for sex therapy, and (3) the main approaches to treatment. Next, (4) practice issues are considered, with a presentation of couple therapy using concepts and techniques of sex therapy, including discussions on A. Identification of Organic Causes, B. Identification of Psychological Issues, C. Examination of Interpersonal Issues, and D. Assessment of Systemic Issues. (5) Some more common interventions are then presented.