An integrated EFT‐contextual approach for couples therapy: suggested model and ideas for practice

Coppola, Jennifer

doi:10.1111/1467-6427.12282

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Providers can help couples by promoting discussions between partners regarding disproportionate burdens, decision-making strategies for dividing responsibilities, as well as partners’ expectations for and perspectives on fairness. EFT, for example, assesses fairness and promotes balance in giving and receiving in the relationship (Coppola, 2020). Notably, research suggests that conflict regarding these issues may actually function to increase equity and fairness in the long term (Adelson et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Couples’ division of household responsibilities during COVID-19, perceptions of fairness, and relationship functioning.

Ryjova¹,

Gold²,

Zaidi³

et al. 2022

Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice

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As couples adapted to the stressful, pandemic-induced disruptions to daily life (e.g., closures of schools, working from home), many couples experienced changes to established divisions of paid and household labor. The present study investigates whether contributions to household responsibilities and perceptions of fairness in divisions of labor are associated with couple relationship satisfaction and disagreements. Gender, number of children in a family, and financial stress during the pandemic are included as moderators. Four hundred seventy-nine participants (52.8% women; ages 19-72, M age = 34.54) in the United States completed an online survey as part of a larger study on couples coping with COVID-19. Linear mixed models showed that women, compared to men, reported doing more household responsibilities, with a widening gender gap based on the presence and number of children, and reported lower fairness. For women, the association between responsibilities and relationship disagreements increased with greater financial stress. Fairness was related to positive relationship outcomes; however, number of children moderated the strength of this association in different directions for women and men. Financial stress also increased the association between fairness and relationship functioning. Results underscore the importance of how couples manage their everyday household responsibilities and, especially, how their perceptions of fairness affect relationship outcomes. The extent to which these findings generalize beyond the pandemic to family life more generally remains to be determined, but the results suggest that the division of responsibilities and fairness, particularly during times of stress and upheaval, are putatively important and protective relationship elements. Public Significance StatementApproximately 1 year into the COVID-19 pandemic, perceived fairness in the division of household responsibilities had a protective role for couple relationship functioning, particularly for women, couples with children, and couples experiencing financial stress. Although it is yet unknown whether these results extend to other time periods, working toward a division of responsibilities perceived as fair can be a meaningful goal for couple and family therapists, and for couples themselves.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Couples’ division of household responsibilities during COVID-19, perceptions of fairness, and relationship functioning.

Ryjova¹,

Gold²,

Zaidi³

et al. 2022

Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Merging partners' coping processes into a shared narrative may help build an allyship between partners fostering not just an interpersonal bond but also offers ways of resisting dominant narratives of pathology. These clinical tasks can be incorporated into most relational, strength-based models, such as contextual therapy, EFT, as well as integrative models (Coppola, 2020)…”

Section: Recommendations For Cliniciansmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, supporting strengths in the couple subsystem (whether it is mutual care, flexibility, commitment, honesty, communication, allyship, trust, or safety) may help motivate couples' growth toward resilience building (Coppola, 2020). Growth could include couples realizing the potential of their relationship to be protective instead of coping processes happening independently (e.g., transgender women not sharing their dysphoria and transphobia experiences with their partner; cisgender partners not sharing their uncertainties about themselves).…”

Section: Recommendations For Cliniciansmentioning

confidence: 99%

“We’re just two people in a relationship”: A qualitative exploration of emotional bond and fairness experiences between transgender women and their cisgender partners

Coppola

Gangamma

Hartwell

2021

J Marital Family Therapy

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Trans-including couples experience systemic marginalization impacting their relationships, yet studies on these relationships or narratives of strength are few. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore emotional bonding and perceptions of fairness between transgender women and their cisgender partners. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was utilized to answer the research question: What are the experiences of emotional bond and fairness between transgender women and their cisgender partners? This research was situated within frameworks of minority stress, romantic attachment, and contextual therapy. Seven couples of transgender women and cisgender partners were interviewed. Three themes emerged: Minority Stress Contexts and Relational Strengths; The Experience of Emotional Bond; and Negotiating Balance. Processes of boundary creation, attunement, affirmations, and balance of care were noted. Findings reframe partner relationships as opportunities to construct transphobia-resistant and resilient narratives. Recommendations for clinicians include prioritizing the couple subsystem as an avenue for building resilience against minority stress. K E Y W O R D S emotional bond, fairness, minority stress, transgender women, transincluding couples JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY | 649 JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY | 661experiences clinically and academically and maintain a fluid and plural perspective on experiences of gender and sexuality because of their different subjective experiences they may be remiss in acknowledging nuances in participant narratives. The cisgender, feminine social locations of the researcher may have created limitations in recruitment, data collection, and analysis (Galupo, 2017).How to cite this article: Coppola, J, Gangamma, R, Hartwell, E. "We're just two people in a relationship": A qualitative exploration of emotional bond and fairness experiences between transgender women and their cisgender partners.

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Adult Romantic Attachment and Relational Ethics: A Dyadic Analysis of Couples in Therapy

et al. 2021

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An integrated EFT‐contextual approach for couples therapy: suggested model and ideas for practice

Cited by 4 publications

References 32 publications

Couples’ division of household responsibilities during COVID-19, perceptions of fairness, and relationship functioning.

Couples’ division of household responsibilities during COVID-19, perceptions of fairness, and relationship functioning.

“We’re just two people in a relationship”: A qualitative exploration of emotional bond and fairness experiences between transgender women and their cisgender partners

Adult Romantic Attachment and Relational Ethics: A Dyadic Analysis of Couples in Therapy

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