The Revolution in Couple Therapy: A Practitioner‐scientist Perspective

Abstract

This article offers an overview of the expanding field of couple therapy, focusing on what the author considers to be new and even revolutionary in this field. In terms of outcome research, this article suggests that differential treatment effects are discernable. Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) appears to demonstrate the best outcomes at present. The most significant differences between research studies and everyday clinical practice may be the levels of therapist supervision rather than the essential nature of clients. The manualization of treatment is also viewed positively in this review. Areas of growth are the mapping of the territory of distress, understanding the process of change, couple therapy as an effective intervention for "individual" disorders, and the integration into couple therapy of clinical research, such as the research on gender and responses in therapy, and research on adult attachment. Practitioner-scientists can contribute to this evolving field by systematic observation and by reminding researchers of the need for clinical relevance. Couple therapy is now integrating description, prediction and explanation. As a result, theory, practice and systematic investigation are beginning to create a coherent whole.

Integrative Practice: Presentation of an Inpatient Family Therapy Program

“…According to Asen (2002), however, most systemic therapists have eventually come to realize that research is necessary in order to prove the effectiveness of their methods in the evidence-based climate. In her review, Susan M. Johnson (2003) points out four areas in the growth of CFT research: (1) studying clinical problems refining the understanding of the nature of relationships distress, (2) studying the process of change in therapy, (3) studying the application of couple therapy as an effective treatment for individual disorders, and (4) integrating CFT research with general research from clinical psychology, human development, and social psychology, all in order to inform, guide, and evaluate interventions with the purpose of reducing the risk of CFT research isolation.…”

“…Therefore, it is more often recommended to investigate in detail the common factors and the mechanisms of change in naturalistic studies Rønnestad, 2008), rather than pursue research designs comparing models. Johnson (2003) notes however that even though different treatments result in similar mean effects, there is good evidence that hidden within these effects are widely disparate outcomes. Therefore she argues for the need to explore possible differences between treatments.…”

“…Further, Gottman, Coan, Carrère, and Swanson (1998) found positive affect as the only predictor of both stability and happiness in a sample of newlyweds. Within behavior marital therapy (BMT) the level of distress at intake is found to account for up to 46% of outcome variance (Johnson, 2003). In other studies, variables at intake, such as low levels of dyadic satisfaction, negative couple interaction patterns over time, severe problems in managing problems, erosion of positive feelings between the partners, relationship disengagement, low levels of emotional affection, and low frequency of sex, predicted poorer outcome immediately after treatment termination as well as at four years follow-up (Halford, 2006;Snyder, Mangrum & Wills, 1993).…”

The Effectiveness of Communication Skills Training With Married Couples: Does the Issue Discussed Matter?

“…Specifically, the questionnaires assessed compromise, repair attempts, flooding, gridlock, and the four horsemen. These five measures were chosen because they were of theoretical and clinical interest to the authors, incorporated both adaptive and maladaptive communication behaviors, and included those aspects of couple communication considered by many to be most toxic, including withdrawal and contempt (Gottman, 1999;Gottman et al, 1998;Johnson, 2003). Each inventory used a true-false format in which the partners indicated whether various behaviors were characteristic of their marital interactions.…”

Couple Therapy and Reiki

“…In a preliminary study of IBCT (Jacobson et al, 2000), which enhances BCT with aspects of acceptance and change, IBCT showed a greater efficacy rate than BMT (Johnson, 2003). At the end of treatment, 70% of IBCT couples achieved recovery, whereas only 55% of couples receiving BCT achieved the same outcome.…”