Asserts that considering ethical values of benevolence/nonmalevolence and respect for client autonomy raises questions about their limitations. Discusses extent to which marital and family therapists can or should adhere to these values; offers suggestions for possible changes. Argues that informed consent, respect for clients, and benevolence are…

Attempted to predict therapy dropouts using data gathered at marital therapy intake with 474 couples seeking marital therapy who attended at least 1 session. Significant predictors of dropping out included having less than two children, having a male intake clinician, and presenting problem relating only to one spouse. (Author/ABL)

Reviews new books and popular literature on gender issues from theory perspective. Discusses concerns for marriage and family counseling and therapy. Contends that content of several new books on unremitting pressures against female equality is important for family counselors and therapists to consider. (Author/NB)

A questionnaire assessed marital and family therapists' willingness to participate in research projects and their use of research in clinical practice. Results indicate a moderate level of research involvement among practitioners. The hypothesis that training in research practice would predict research involvement was only partially supported.…

Argues for the application of Delphi studies in marriage and family therapy (MFT) research. Describes the methodology of the Delphi and discusses Delphi studies that already exist in the MFT literature. Recommendations for the use of Delphi in the MFT field are highlighted. (MKA)

The technique called "two-marriage therapy" (conjoint cotherapy by married cotherapy teams) has been developed to help couples in marital crises to confront the elusive nature of marriage. This paper attempts to show how the presence of a married cotherapy team adds a significant salutary perspective on the marriage in conflict. (Author)

Attempted to identify predictors of positive treatment outcome following behavioral marital therapy. The only variable that significantly predicted outcome at both posttest and follow-up was a measure reflecting traditional affiliation/independence patterns: couples with a highly affiliative wife and a highly independent husband were less likely…

Describes common characteristics of 13 cases in which one marital partner initiated therapy because the other partner was undecided about continuing their marriage. Initiating clients wanted their marriages to continue even if they were unrewarding and saw themselves as helpless victims. Clients who could turn their attention from the ambivalent…

Suggests an integrated systemic-psychodynamic approach to the treatment of characterological disorders within conjoint marital therapy. Draws from object relations and systemic therapies in developing a treatment approach to marriages which include at least one borderline personality disorder spouse. A case example illustrates the…

The case study illustrates the ways in which consultation with specialists can add strain to marriages involving disabled children. (CL)

Describes the history and development of the residential marriage and family therapy training program at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas. Discusses the initial approval and focus, financial support, staff, students, and the conflict between counseling and traditional psychiatric therapy. (JAC)

Data and information gathered regarding marriage and family therapy graduate programs and training centers are synthesized and interpreted. Highlights of the data and implications for educational programs in family therapy are presented including increasing number of institutions offering family therapy training and a large number of students in…

Derives an empirically based classification system of marital relationships, employing a multidimensional self-report measure of marital interaction. Spouses' profiles on the Marital Satisfaction Inventory for samples of clinic and nonclinic couples were subjected to cluster analysis, resulting in separate five-group typologies for husbands and…

Defines inhibited sexual desire (ISD) as a relational phenomenon best treated in the marital context. Discusses ISD as it relates to the central marital issues of power, intimacy, and boundaries. (JAC)

Helping a group close on a productive note is very important. Each client must understand precisely what he or she can expect of the group. Most groups develop agreements on starting times, closing times, approximate number of sessions, and ways homework assignments are developed. (Author)