We examined the utility of naive ratings of communication patterns and relationship quality in a large sample of distressed couples. Untrained raters assessed 10-min videotaped interactions from 134 distressed couples who participated in both problem-solving and social support discussions at each of 3 time points (pre-therapy, post-therapy, and…

This study examined the basic utility of topic models, a computational linguistics model for text-based data, to the investigation of the process of couple therapy. Linguistic analysis offers an additional lens through which to examine clinical data, and the topic model is presented as a novel methodology within couple and family psychology that…

Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT) posits that emotional reactions to a partner's behavior can be as important to the relationship as the behavior itself. This study examined whether acceptance (a) is distinct from relationship sentiment, (b) mediates the link between a partner's behavioral frequency and own relationship satisfaction,…

Objective: To follow distressed married couples for 5 years after their participation in a randomized clinical trial. Method: A total of 134 chronically and seriously distressed married couples were randomly assigned to approximately 8 months of either traditional behavioral couple therapy (TBCT; Jacobson & Margolin, 1979) or integrative…

Although the field of couple therapy has made significant strides in recent years, there continues to be a need for theoretically sound and empirically supported treatments. The current case study examines whether Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an experiential acceptance-based behavior therapy, can be effective in treating distressed…

Understanding couples' relationship problems is fundamental to couple therapy. Although research has documented common relationship problems, no study has used open-ended questions to explore problems in couples seeking therapy in naturalistic settings. The present study used a reliable coding system to explore the relationship problems reported…

Among male veterans and their female partners seeking therapy for relationship issues, three violence profiles were identified based on self-reports of physical violence: nonviolent, in which neither partner reported perpetrating physical violence (44%); one-sided violent, in which one partner reported perpetrating violence (30%); and mutually…

Follow-up data across 2 years were obtained on 130 of 134 couples who were originally part of a randomized clinical trial comparing traditional versus integrative behavioral couple therapy (TBCT vs. IBCT; A. Christensen et al., 2004). Both treatments produced similar levels of clinically significant improvement at 2 years posttreatment (69% of…

A randomized clinical trial compared the effects of traditional behavioral couple therapy (TBCT) and integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT) on 134 seriously and chronically distressed married couples, stratified into moderately and severely distressed groups. Couples in IBCT made steady improvements in satisfaction throughout the course of…

Examines whether a new instrument for measuring couple functioning would differentiate couples in therapy for sexual dysfunction from couples in therapy for other problems. While the other-problems group had greater sexual satisfaction than the sex dysfunction group, the groups were similar in experiencing moderate marital distress. (JPS)

Behavioral couples' therapy has a long history of success with couples and is an empirically validated treatment for marital discord (Task Force on Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures, 1995). However, only about 50% of all couples in treatment experience long-term change (2 years). One of the founders of behavioral couples'…

This study tested whether the observed marital interactions of partners following a marriage checkup predicted marital satisfaction 2 years later. In addition, this study examined whether recommendations to pursue therapy predicted subsequent treatment seeking and whether changes in marital distress following the checkup remained stable over 2…