Discusses outcome and process research on couple therapy and integrates articles in journal's special section on couples and couples therapy into the discussion. Discussion of strengths and weaknesses of various designs concludes that within-model comparisons have been more productive in producing knowledge than between-model comparisons. Includes…

The author proposes a model format for the initial conjoint marital interview. Implementation of the model is discussed with regard to anxiety reduction, elicitation of pertinent data, diagnosis, treatment plan development, resultant length of therapy, and effectiveness as a teaching-supervising tool. (Author)

This study evaluated whether alcoholics who receive relapse prevention (RP) sessions in the year after a short-term behavioral marital therapy (BMT) do better at long-term follow-up than do those not receiving the additional RP. Sixty couples with an alcoholic husband, after participating in 10 weekly BMT couples group sessions, were assigned…

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)

John L. Schimel, M.D. moderates a discussion by three young married couples concerning areas of possible sexual conflict. (CG)

In an interview, a marriage counselor answers questions concerning sex in marriage. He concludes that sex alone is too narrow a base for a marriage to rest upon and for a successful marriage, there is a need for a deeper basis of companionship. (Author/CG)

Spouses frequently depict changes in important aspects of marital relationships as threats to the permanence of those relationships. However, the effects on permanence are better explained in terms of the partners' viewpoints or ways of interpreting the changes. Six common polarities of viewpoint illustrate this point. (Author)

This paper incorporates relevant knowledge about adult development into an understanding of marital conflict, suggests hypotheses to be explored in the marital evaluation and subsequent therapy, and illustrates the concepts presented with case material. (Author)

Humans organize into constellations subjective attributes that help them to know themselves. Self-esteem refers only to those aspects of one's self-concept to which an evaluation is assigned. Self-esteem reflects one's sense of personal efficacy and worth. Love has been described as emotional closeness, passion, and decision/commitment; esteem for…

Like a fire out of control, jealousy can reduce a marriage to rubble. It can leave self-esteem ruined. Although oversimplified, the pathologically jealous person regards even slight signs as conclusive evidence of betrayal. Where jealousy arises exclusively within a relationship then a counselor might examine the jealous person's self-concept and…

Both spouses were placed in separate mixed counseling groups in which the focus was on interpersonal relationships. Marital problems were discussed only as related to feelings experienced in the group. In the case cited, results were favorable. (Author)

Cognitive factors have been shown to play an important role in marital distress. To examine the importance of the self-other distinction for understanding the impact of attributions on marital satisfaction, two studies were conducted. In the first study, causal attributions for naturally occurring behavior by the self and spouse were investigated…

Identified 16 significantly different marital communication practices which distinguished 23 happily married individuals from those undergoing counseling (N=23). Results revealed that happy individuals had significantly more congruency between their self-perceptions and their spouse's perceptions of their communication practices and more congruent…

Defensive projection is discussed as a mechanism important in understanding interpersonal relations. Projections are seen as an important source of both misperception of spouse and reduced self-awareness, leading to resentment and a rigid marital system. In conjoint marriage counseling, the counselor may intervene to correct perceptual distortion.…

To better serve the growing number of Spanish-speaking couples and families in the U.S., it is useful to have a battery of instruments to assess the nature of their marital distress. This article presents the standard assessment battery that Brigham Young University uses to evaluate marital distress. (Contains 11 references and 1 table.) (GCP)