This study sought to advance the growing body of research on communication and instruction outside of the college classroom by exploring the rhetorical and relational goals of religious leaders facilitating premarital education about sex (i.e., sexuality, sexual health, and intimacy). Specifically, 47 evangelical Christians who had taught…

Some couples seek counseling to address warning signs. They may not be facing a relationship crisis but may be more concerned about where they are headed. Hence, a marriage makeover may not necessarily be needed, but instead couples in counseling may benefit from something rejuvenating. In such cases, brief interventions or techniques may be…

The concept of Japanese Bushido and its seven virtues were introduced by the authors in this article for the practice and application of couple communication. The Bushido Matrix Worksheet (BMW) was created for enhancing couple's awareness and understanding of each other's values and experiences. An activity and a case study to demonstrate the use…

Client readiness for change is garnering increased interest both conceptually and methodologically. This article describes the reliability, validity, and utility of a measure of readiness for couple relationship change, Schneider's (2003) Stages of Relationship Change Questionnaire (SRCQ). Based on the Transtheoretical Model of Change, the…

What is the extent to which marriage/couple and family therapy (M/CFT) journals address transgender issues and how many of them say they are inclusive of transgender persons when they are not? To answer these queries, a content analysis was conducted on articles published in M/CFT literature from 1997 through 2009. Of the 10,739 articles examined…

Reports an attempt to validate a self-help behavioral marital bibliotherapy program. Evaluated five clinical distressed couples via a multiple baseline analysis. Treatment involved reading and exercises covering communications, problem solving, and sexual dysfunction. Results were highly variable and reflected minimal change. (BH)

Describes study comparing views of husbands and wives toward day-to-day communication practices. Initial data analysis yielded 24 items contributing to 7 factors. Wives tended to report less communication or rate communication lower than husbands, but both husbands and wives were generally satisfied with communication in marriages. (Author/CRR)

Presents Ethics Model of Marriage and Family Counseling and its underlying assumptions. Analyzes six basic counseling values in relation to microsystems of counselor and client, mesosystem of counseling process, and societal value context as the macrosystem. Utilizes discussion of suicide to apply these values to the model. Includes 17 references.…

"Matesim" was designed to help users identify areas of conflict and fulfillment with potential mates and aid rational clarification of values. The computer simulates marriage, evaluates the consequences in terms of user's values, and provides analysis of user's values compared with those of counselor and peer group. (Author/BEF)

The author's system of premarital counseling and examination consists of four visits before marriage and one after. These visits are for introducing the contractual elements of marriage; taking medical histories and physical examinations; introducing a program for beginning marriage; and resolving problems in the early weeks of marriage. (BP)

Investigated effects of behavioral couple therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and their combination on female depression 6 and 12 months after therapy ended. Relapse rates did not discriminate between treatments at any follow-up point. Reductions in husband and wife dysphoria and increases in wife facilitative behavior during therapy predicted…

A description is presented of a marital program provided couples by a marital and family therapy training center. Included are the goals, topics, techniques, and procedures for conducting a premarital assessment. (Author)

Compared personality characteristics of couples in alcoholic and nonalcoholic marriages. Couples in which one spouse was alcoholic showed fewer personality interrelationships than nonalcoholic couples, raising questions about the hypothesis that alcoholic marriage partners complement each other. Alcoholic and nonalcoholic males differed…

The use of early memories of the marriage relationship in counseling couples provides couples and therapists with insight into individual's convictions about present relationships. This is an extension of the use of early recollections in Adlerian therapy. The literature is reviewed and case examples are provided. (Author/EMK)

Proposes that premarital education efforts can reduce marital distress and divorce. Using a combination of rational argument and empirical findings, four key benefits of premarital education are discussed: (a) it fosters deliberation; (b) it sends the message that marriage matters; (c) it make seeking help an option; and (d) it may lower risk for…