In order to develop a prevention-oriented, communication-skill training program for couples, this study used a social-learning paradigm to increase positive messages, to decrease negative messages, and to enhance problem-solving abilities. The small group provided the context for training. Communication effectiveness and marital satisfaction were…

Marriage counseling of couples in groups is based upon principles and techniques of both group counseling and marriage counseling, and in rationale and methodology combines the two. It can be a useful and constructive form of marital therapy. (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)

Semi-rural first-married couples (N=29) seeking marital counseling from a small community mental health center were administered Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) as part of the intake procedure of the agency. Male and female mean scores for each of the 16 personality factors were derived and compared to the Cattell and…

Over the past five years the author has taught approximately 1000 students in experientially-oriented courses on the divorced and the widowed; of these 1000, about 300 were divorced women. Many of these divorcees (but not all, by any means) have shown considerable change in self image from the start to the end of the course. These changes are…

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)

Examined marital family therapy training in medical education. Subjects were graduating medical students entering psychiatry, who rated the adequacy of their exposure in medical school to a variety of mental health interventions. Fewer than one-third of the respondents believed they received adequate exposure to marital and family therapy. (KS)

A child with a serious disability can have an extensive emotional impact on the family. A case study of the parents of a disabled child describes the demands imposed on them by therapeutic programs and the use of counseling to focus on their marriage and their problem-solving styles. (JDD)

Examines Garfield and Bergin's "Handbook of Psychotherapy and Behavior Change," which emphasizes that marital and family therapy are a type of psychotherapy. Analyzes major findings about nonfamily psychotherapies, applying them to family therapy, and draws conclusions regarding therapists' thinking, emphasizing need for studying applicability of…

The fundamental dynamic in the troubled marriage is seen as pathological nurturance, i.e., the perversion of the sense of caring. Derived from the early role reversal, it leads the spouses to take up hopeless tasks of recompense and rescue. The result is resistive, discordant behaviors as a means of coping. (Author)

Counselors whose specialty is marriage and family counseling develop a theoretical and research base and acquire countless hours of experience upon which to base their interventions. Most counselors and other helping professionals whose specialty is in another area do as well as they can lacking specific theoretical concepts and experience from…

This personal essay highlights a disturbing trend in the increasing divorce rates not only in Nigerian society, but also across the entire globe. The paper notes many cultural differences between how Nigerian society and the Western world perceive divorce, emphasizing that, worldwide, children are always the victims. Of particular concern is the…

Explores advantages and disadvantages of behavioral marital therapy. Features of behavioral marital therapy implicated as important in the consideration of sex role issues include underlying assumptions of egalitarianism, external causality, and orientation toward action as well as specific procedures such as goal setting, behavioral exchange and…

Psychodynamic theory and family systems theories have come to represent competing orientations in the understanding of human behavior. This paper extends the quest for an integration of these perspectives. Maps ideas from one orientation onto constructs from the other. Case examples illustrate the ideas. (Author)

Contains six articles illustrating techniques used in working with adult dyads at the Marriage Council of Philadelphia. Describes cognitive therapy, values analysis, and individual interview methods. Discusses effects of rape on couple adjustment, interrelationships of sexual adjustment and marital satisfaction, and a 20-year longitudinal study of…