The social learning approach to marital and family therapy emphasizes the importance of clients' compliance with homework assignments to treatment progress. To investigate the relationship between clients' homework compliance and therapists' and clients' behaviors during therapy sessions and clients' intrasession tension and satisfaction, the…

Used meta-analyses to determine the effectiveness of behavioral marital therapy (BMT) and premarital intervention (BPI) studies. Found gains that were generally maintained over time, and equal for couples in Europe and the United States. Demonstrated higher effect sizes for comparisons of BMT with no treatment placebo control groups, whereas the…

Explored the exchange of social rewards and costs between the therapist and client (N=11 dating couples) in an initial therapy interview. Results suggested that client perceptions of short-term cost may be influenced by educational or informative responses about the general functioning of relationships. (JAC)

This paper presents a follow-up records' study of 773 former marriage counseling clients of 21 marriage counselors. The clients' primary treatment form was compared with six categories of counseling outcome. A rank ordering of the six forms for effectiveness suggested conjoint interviews and conjoint groups to be the most effective forms.…

Assessed the immediate and long-term impact of the Couple Communication Program. Married couples (N=17) were assigned to training groups. Change was assessed using self-report measures of marital adjustment and communication quality along with behavioral ratings of couple verbal interaction. Couples increased significantly on all measures at…

Examined effects of information and discussion among married couples (N=36) in a marriage enrichment program. Found information had little apparent effect on couples, but discussion in groups improved couples' marriage satisfaction and their sexual and intellectual intimacy throughout the study relative to couples not receiving group discussion.…

Obtained 4-year follow-up data regarding marital status and marital accord for 59 couples receiving either behavioral (BMT) or insight-oriented (IOMT) marital therapy in a controlled outcome study. Found no significant group differences between the two treatment conditions at termination or six-month followup; but by four-year followup, a…

In-depth interviews with individuals who had experienced marital infidelity revealed a three-stage process following disclosure of an affair. The process starts with an "emotional roller coaster" and moves through a "moratorium" before efforts at trust building are recognized. Implications for the literature on forgiveness and the process of…

Discusses the increase of treatment modalities for marriage and family counseling and considers some of the philosophical problems which complicate the practice of family and marriage counseling. Also explores the relationship of counseling psychology to marriage and family counseling. (Author)

Analyzed process of change in "best" sessions of Emotionally Focused Marital Therapy (EFT). Rated client performance in therapy on depth of experiencing and quality of interpersonal interactions. Noted occurrences of particular change events arising from theoretical principles of EFT. Confirmed that higher levels of experiencing and more…

Examines the success of (N=13) premarital counseling programs. Reviews programs which outlined standardized intervention procedures and utilized dependent measures to assess the program's effectiveness. Premarital counseling programs were generally found to be atheoretical in their approach to intervention, loosely designed, and nonspecific as to…

Marital and family therapy has gained credibility and emerged as a viable treatment approach for most mental health problems. The field is beginning to develop integrative conceptual models, utilize clinically relevant assessment techniques, conduct systematic outcome research, and develop preventative and enrichment programs. (Author)

The Lost Adolescence Syndrome is described. Its usefulness as a diagnostic tool for the marriage and family counselor is elaborated upon. Implications for therapy are discussed. (Author)

Increased numbers of married students in college and high school suggests school counselors need to become more familiar with the principles and techniques of family counseling. The need for specialized skills and an appeal for help in acquiring them is presented, promoting a dialogue between school counselors and family therapists. (Author)

Using Bowen Family Systems Theory as a theoretical underpinning, in this study, we investigated the hypothesis that clients with higher levels of differentiation would improve more quickly in therapy than clients with lower levels of differentiation. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to analyze the data over nine sessions of therapy in a…