This monograph focuses on practical information and offers guidelines for professional counselors who practice marriage and family counseling. It discusses the importance of specialized training for professional counselors to ensure working ethically with couples and families, and it reviews divorce, child custody, and child abuse and neglect,…

This article advocates the use of a problem-oriented approach for the measurement of change in patient status. The objective is to elicit a small number of specific and important problematic behaviors. Therapists can then rate changes in these behaviors periodically. (Author)

This study completed the initial stages in the development of the Johnson In-Law Attitude Scale, which is an instrument designed to measure attitudes toward one's family of in-laws, both before and during the marriage, and relationships with parents. A thorough review of literature relative to in-laws is included. The study revealed that the…

This paper provides a rationale for group pre-marriage counseling based on the social nature of factors influencing the marriage model. The author suggests that while group pre-marriage counseling invites disillusionment, it offers the antidote--the realization that disillusionment occurred not necessarily because of a bad choice, but because of…

The Ob/Gyn Department of Rambam University, Haifa, Israel, recently established a Center for Sexual Counseling, Therapy and Education. The Center's concept and format of therapy, and some preliminary observations, are presented. (Author)

This paper offers a comparative analysis of the process of conjoint marital therapy within the three major contemporary models of treatment: (1) psychoanalytic; (2) behavioral; and (3) systems theory. On the basis of this comparative analysis, some thoughts toward the future of marital therapy are offered. (Author)

A pilot research study is described, aimed at investigating the hypotheses that psychosexual factors are of central importance in the psychological recovery of the mastectomy patient and that counseling would prove beneficial. Results indicated that sexual self-concept superseded mortality as the primary concern of most recovering mastectomy…

Family therapy training and supervision literature were reviewed and found to be fragmented and disorganized. There is a need for a comprehensive source which would synthesize this literature and compare the existing viewpoints. This paper works toward this end by reviewing, contrasting, and categorizing the available publications. (Author)

"Marriage" is treated as a mental concept that evolves in a developmental sequence of four qualitatively distinct stages: Magical, Idealized Conventional, Individualistic, and Affirmational. Each stage is illustrated with excerpts from Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage. Some applications for marriage counselors are suggested. (Author)

A simple test is described that has proven highly effective when used by married couples. It can be self-administered. Couples who use it can learn a great deal about their relationship and do so in terms of positive insights which they can then use to promote mutual growth. (Author)

Presents a contract and rationale for use with couples who recognize that their marriage is on the edge of divorce. The couple can choose to live separately under controlled and structured conditions. The counselor plays an active part as mediator and facilitator. (Author)

Twelve couples in marital counseling were studied during 12 months on the basis of their biorhythms. For each couple a compatibility percentage was obtained. It was found that difficulties in their interaction correlated highly with dissonance in their biorhythms. (Author)

Presents flow chart of the process of psychotherapy with couples as way for practitioners to integrate various models of marital therapy into their treatment. Discusses sequentially basic steps and questions to be addressed; resolution of each stage is considered important for movement to following stages. Notes flow chart allows intervention…

Discusses coverage of relevant treatment areas for dual-career couples described in the literature. Includes a case example and analysis. Recommends an integrated multilevel approach because of the structural complexities and intricate psychological and interpersonal adaptations inherent in dual-career relationships. (ABL)

Describes a two-year treatment of a case of marital abuse. Used psychoanalytic and family systems theory to understand the processes contributing to the emergence of violence. Documents resistances to total change. (Author/ABB)