Addresses advantages of, and potential pitfalls in, integrated approaches to marital counseling. Presents a sequential approach in which various approaches to marital counseling are integrated without jeopardizing internal consistency and uniformity in treatment. Offers precounseling considerations and procedures for a five-session series.…

The 1992-1995 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina caused mush devastation in that region of the world. This article describes the themes and issues that emerged from information gained from interviews with Bosnian professionals through a project entitled "Trauma and Reconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina." Recommendations and implications for family…

Describes computer-based interpretive system for Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI) and application in initial phases of clinical assessment and treatment planning. Provides case study. Compares clinical findings at intake with MSI profiles for one couple obtained at termination and follow-up. Considers strengths and limitations of self-report…

Presents a didactic-experiental workshop that may be used with groups of family therapists and their spouses to help them explore marital issues that sometimes emerge as a result of the work of the family therapist. Concludes family therapists should not neglect their own marriages. (Author/ABL)

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)

Therapists working with intimate relationships are frequently confronted with issues regarding the loss of erotic intimacy, differences in levels of sexual desire, and the existence of intimate relationships outside the primary. Proposes that an approach derived from an integration of narrative therapy and relationship enhancement therapy can be…

Reexamines the Mental Research Institute associates' intervention of reframing in marital therapy. Describes use of Ericksonian strategies of ratification and utilization, with emphasis on nonverbal language, conjoint reframing, unconscious wisdom, and recursive therapy. Presents ratification and utilization interventions. (Author/ABL)

Techniques of structured communication training, integrating Guerney's conjugal therapy model and Carkhuff's systematic facilitative training, are described in detail. This method offers a concise and effective technology for enhancing communication skills in couples who are experiencing marital conflicts. (Author)

The premarital contract is an effective tool in premarital counseling. This contract is a written or verbal agreement that makes more explicit one's attitudes and expectations about aspects that will influence the marital relationship. Topics include division of labor, employment, financial responsibility, and religious beliefs and practices.…

States that current literature suggests that dreams are seldom used by marriage and family therapists, yet dreams can be powerful tools in therapeutic treatment. Includes clinical examples that demonstrate the effective use of dreams in marriage and family therapy. Discusses the interface between dream interpretation and systems therapy. (MKA)

Discusses Rehearsals for Growth (RfG), a method of using drama in the service of marital and family psychotherapy. It focuses on enhancing and developing skills that promote good relationship functioning and offering techniques for changing the stories that are cocreated about self and relationship. Describes games and exercises that illustrate…

Describes a marital enhancement tool, the Memory Board, that encourages spouses to recall positive memories of their married life. (Author)

Discusses the fast growing profession of mediation for couples undergoing separation and divorce. Discusses questions of consumers concerning how the process works, how long it takes, and its costs and questions of professionals, concerning the process, the qualifications of mediators, and referral for mediation. (Author/ABB)