Effects of psychotherapy on significant others.

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to investigate some of the ways in which one partner in a relationship is affected by the other partner's therapy. Twenty significant others (SOs), never in therapy themselves, whose spouse or live-in heterosexual partner was currently engaged in psychotherapy, were administered a 20-question interview and the 40-item Likert-type Spouse's Perception of Therapy Scale (SPOTS). Results indicated that most SOs harbored conflicted feelings about their partners' therapy. On the positive side, SOs felt that their partners were more empathic and open, that communication in their relationship had improved, and that they themselves were more introspective and better able to understand their partners. On the negative side, the privacy of the therapist-patient relationship inspired feelings in SOs of exclusion, resentment, and inadequacy. Most SOs also reported displeasure with the cost of therapy. It is suggested that therapy initiates a process of change not only in the patient, but in the SO and their relationship as well.

Patterns of self-disclosure in psychotherapy and marriage.

“…Spouses, it has been reported, are sometimes envious of the intimacy of the therapeutic relationship (Brody & Farber, 1989). Conversely, therapists have long been aware that certain issues are withheld from their purview out of deference to a partner's feelings.…”

Couples' accounts of the effects of individual psychotherapy.

“…Consonant with several recent surveys (Brody & Farber, 1989;Hatcher & Hatcher, 1983;Methorst & Diekstra, 1987), the information provided by these couples indicates that individual psychotherapy can have both positive and negative effects on the client's spouse and marital relationship. What is most striking about these couples are the similarities between couples 1 and 2, and the differences between these couples and couple 3.…”

“…One partner (couple 1) stated that his wife's increased assertiveness was mildly irritating to him. This sometimes contradictory experience has been noted in some surveys of clients and their partners (Brody & Farber, 1989).…”

Relating Theory – Clinical and Forensic Applications

“…However, many studies have demonstrated that individually oriented therapies can be eff ective for both the partners and the couple (e.g. Brody and Farber 1989 ;Dewey and Hunsley 1990 ;Lefebvre and Hunsley 1994 ). Individual therapy may have positive repercussions, spreading extensively towards the members of an extended family (Roberts 1996 ).…”