The parents of a boy with Down syndrome and two nondisabled girls developed marital conflicts about their roles in managing the home, helping with schoolwork, spending time with the children, and setting realistic expectations for the children. They learned to more clearly express their feelings about their own needs and their children's needs.…

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.…

Examined whether patient gender influenced prognostic judgments and if male and female therapists used different client characteristics when formulating judgments. Based prognostic judgments on clinical profiles of couples seeking marital therapy for inhibited sexual desire. Found that identified patient's gender did not influence prognostic…

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…

Presents ethical code for the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors. Includes preamble and sections on client well-being, confidentiality, competence, assessment, private practice, research and publication, supervision, and media and public statements. (NB)

Describes how one marriage-and-family-therapy (MFT) accredited program has been transformed as the result of a conscious decision to examine and modify the entire educational process. As a foundation for the transformation, faculty chose a "genderist" philosophy as the most effective approach. (Author/MKA)

Describes a cognitive-behavioral model for treating couples' negative reactions to infertility. After a discussion of why the cognitive-behavioral approach can competently address the goals of couples coping with infertility, three phases of treatment are outlined: assessment, therapy, and closure. Areas for assessment include spouses, marital…

Postmodern approaches to career counseling are well suited to addressing the challenges a postindustrial world poses to career development and overall life design. In this, the 1st of 2 articles exploring theory and practice, the authors examine the differences between traditional trait and factor models of career counseling and postmodern…

Numerous studies document that medical education is demanding and stressful, yet few studies have examined the effects of medical training on spouses and medical marriages. Eighty-three individuals (42 couples) living in medical marriages completed questionnaires measuring marital satisfaction, perceived stress, general mattering, and wellness.…

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…

The author, a family life educator, reviews the research literature on marriage and family indicating the neglected areas and stressing the need for cause and effect studies. He proposes a number of research approaches to achieve the latter. Speech presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, Salt Lake City, Utah,…

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.…

Within the past decade, the field of marriage and family therapy has mushroomed. As a new and emerging professional specialization, marriage and family therapy is subject to control struggles as well as the proliferation of training modalities. This monograph, written for counselor education faculty, students, and family therapists, provides…