Presents an integrative interpersonal-intrapsychic model of dysfunctional marital conflict. Reviews research support for the model. Discusses the therapeutic applications of the model and illustrates with a clinical example. (Author)

Notes a pattern in marital therapy wherein losses are not mourned or shared; instead one spouse uses the other for externalization of internal conflict. Explains how loss tends to be experienced as disenchantment with the spouse. Describes the conjoint format that can facilitate mourning and the sharing of losses. (Author)

Behavioral Marital Therapy (BMT) is clinically useful because it includes elaborating procedures, modifying the spouse's self-defeating cognitions, and moving toward early intervention and prevention. Each article in this issue of American Journal of Family Therapy focuses on innovations in BMT, either in research or practice. (Author/NRB)

Reciprocity counseling is a rapid reinforcement-based procedure developed for teaching marriage partners how to increase their individual happiness within their marital relationship. The major obstacle to implementing reciprocity techniques is convincing the partners to engage in the procedures, even if they feel these procedures appear contrived…

Examined how spousal behaviors related to global and daily marital satisfaction. Eighty-two couples completed daily checklists of spousal behaviors for seven days using an individualized or a standardized assessment method. Daily behavioral event measures were significantly related to global and daily measures of marital satisfaction,…

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…

Describes the use of Jung's subjective approach to dream interpretation in couples' group therapy to bring unconscious material quickly to the surface. Dreams show the connection between the manifest behavior and the underlying dynamics. They clarify the characteristic behavior of the psychological types. Finally, they aid the therapeutic process.…

When sex is a problem in marriage, the wife often feels that she is only a sex object to the husband, while the latter feels that she hates sex. A procedure is described and data presented to respond to these concerns. Reasons for failure are given and suggestions are made. (Author)

Depression and marital maladjustment measures were taken of all couples attending a clinic. A significant correlation between depression and marital maladjustment was found for self-report data and was replicated by therapists' ratings. Marital ratings of either spouse were related to men's depression ratings, and minimally related to women's.…

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)

Although interest has increased in applying cognitive behavior therapies to conjoint treatment of marital problems, the role of cognitive processes in marital maladjustment and in couples' orientations toward marital therapy has not been sufficiently investigated. The association between couples' levels of marital distress and their goals for…

The Task Force on Divorce and Divorce Reform was established by the Family Action Section of the National Council on Family Relations in the Fall of 1971. Its purpose was to study divorce in relation to the family, and draft a report which would constitute the basis for action by the NCFR and its members. Since several aspects of divorce were to…

This paper describes a seminar approach to postdivorce adjustment. Topical content areas covered in the seven-week seminars are discussed. The interaction of leader-guided problem solving and participant input is addressed along with a series of preliminary conclusions reached concerning the efficacy of this approach to treatment. (Author)

In this paper the results of a longitudinal study of the two years following divorce are presented. Divorced parents (N=48) and their preschool child and a matched group of 48 intact families were studied following divorce. The process of disruption, coping and adjustment by fathers is examined. (Author)

Medical student marriages were examined in order to identify areas of stress, evaluate the congruence between expectations and actualities in the marital partner's role performance as perceived by the spouse, investigate the spouse's attitudes toward marital counseling, and determine whether a marital counseling service should be made available.…