Quid pro quo revisited: The basis of marital therapy.

Abstract

This paper proposes that the basis of marriage is the quid pro quo agreement, which must be recognized in any marital therapy. Symmetry and complementarity are reviewed as the two ways in which the three basic marital issues of power, intimacy, and boundaries are worked out in the quid pro quo negotiations. Implications for therapy are discussed.

Teaching Theories of Couples Counseling: The Use of Popular Movies

“…The role of the therapist is to help the couple increase the use of these constructs and decrease aggressive language, reactive language, and escalation attempts, to name a few. In systems theory, identification of a rule or quid pro quo helps the couple redefine its agreements in ways more relevant to its current needs and more mutually agreeable to both partners (Fish & Stone Fish, 1986). In psychodynamic theory, therapists help couples own their projections so they can project less and empathize more, see partners more objectively, and recognize that good and bad characteristics are part of the same partner (Hendrix, 1990).…”

Structural couple therapy in the treatment of inhibited sexual drive

“…Therapists observed the interaction between the couple, probed their specific sexual sequence in detail, and developed a cycle in which the ISD was embedded. Therapists utilized the quid pro quo concept (Jackson, 1965;Fish & Stone Fish, 1986) of couple dynamics to assess the power, boundary, and intimacy cycles in which ISD was embedded.…”

Marital and family therapy with religious persons.

“…All couple and family relationships can be characterized in terms of three metaconstructs that essentially combine and integrate concepts and principles of most marital and family therapy schools and approaches. These three constructs are (a) boundaries, or inclusion; (b) power, or control; and (c) intimacy (Doherty & Colangelo, 1984;Doherty, Colangelo, Green, & Hoffman, 1985;Fish & Fish, 1986).…”