What’s Wrong With These People? Clinicians’ Views of Clinical Couples

Abstract

Marriage and family therapy (MFT) faculty and graduate students rated the "typical" or predictable behaviors of husbands or wives coming for therapy using the Georgia Marriage Q-sort. Scores were compared with previously published scores for both "ideal" couples (i.e., showing positive behaviors, attitudes, and problem-solving skills) and a sample of 136 nonclinical, community couples. A review of correlations between MFT raters' scores for clients and the scores for "ideal" or actual community husbands or wives indicated that clinicians have negative views of both clinical husbands and wives. Such negative views of clinical husbands and wives are particularly marked in scores by MFT faculty. MFT students had a similarly negative view of clinical husbands, but such views were not evident for clinical wives. Recommendations for MFT training and implications for future research are discussed.

Dislikable Clients or Countertransference: A Clinician's Perspective

“…This would expose clinicians to varied modalities—psychodynamic and interpersonal—to allow for greater understanding of CT and its impact on practice. As several researchers have noted, working with displaced emotions or through genuine blocks toward the client is critical to client engagement and treatment outcomes (Alves de Oliveira & Vandenberghe, 2009; Brosi & Carolan, 2006; Mitchell, 1988; Ro & Wampler, 2009; Slochower, 2003). …”

“…Frequently, dislike of a client has been viewed as a component of the experience of CT (Alves de Oliveira & Vandenberghe, 2009; Brosi & Carolan, 2006; Mitchell, 1988; Ro & Wampler, 2009; Slochower, 2003; Wachtel, 2008). This definition misses negative experience of one’s clients created solely by something in the client, whether it is consistent lateness or a history of untreated trauma affecting the client’s relational behaviors.…”

“…Classical understanding of CT as displacement does not allow clinicians to understand the entirety of the clinical significance inherent in disliking one’s client. This distinction is important, as working with displaced emotions is a different process from working through genuine blocks toward the client based on clinician reaction to the client (Alves de Oliveira & Vandenberghe, 2009; Brosi & Carolan, 2006; Mitchell, 1988; Ro & Wampler, 2009; Slochower, 2003). Is it possible that one dislikes a client simply for their presenting attributes and personality rather than them unconsciously reminding us of negative experiences with other people in our lives?…”

Therapists’ Assessments in Treating “Sex Addiction” and Their Relationship to Clients’ Gender, Relationship Status, and Exclusivity Status

“…(). Research shows that therapists tend to pathologize women's sexual behavior more than men and this is especially true when considering sexual behavior in nonmonogamous relationships (Hecker et al., ; Ro & Wampler, ). The significant interaction between gender and exclusivity status suggests that participants viewed men and women differently when accounting for exclusivity.…”

“…Ro and Wampler () recommend therapists need to reduce the amount of expectations they bring into the room, so that they do not, advertently or inadvertently, misplace their own values and biases onto the lives of their clients. This seems vital because a therapist's expectation of a client's ability to change from addictive behaviors significantly impacts the client's outcome (Miller & Moyers, ).…”