Much of the empirical data available about therapeutic alliance and its relationship to termination status come from individual psychotherapies. We know less about therapeutic alliance in couple therapy. A unique characteristic of alliance in couple or family therapy is the possibility of discrepancies in alliance between system members. In this study we sought to demonstrate three statistical ...

This study aimed to examine whether classification of couples in which one partner has an alcohol problem is similar to that reported in the general couples literature. Typologies of couples seeking alcohol behavioral couple therapy (ABCT) were developed via hierarchical cluster analysis using behavioral codes of couple interactions during their first ABCT session. Four couples types based on i...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the alliance and outcome in couple therapy and examine whether the alliance predicted outcomes over and above early change. The authors also investigated partner influence and gender and sought to identify couple alliance patterns that predicted couple outcomes. METHOD The authors examined the alliances and outcomes a...

Despite the overall efficacy of psychotherapy, dropouts are substantial, many clients do not benefit, therapists vary in effectiveness, and there may be a crisis of confidence among consumers. A research paradigm called patient-focused research--a method of enhancing outcome via continuous progress feedback--holds promise to address these problems. Although feedback has been demonstrated to imp...

Although meta-analyses affirm that various treatments for couple distress produce statistically and clinically significant outcomes, research findings also indicate that a large percentage of couples fail to benefit or subsequently deteriorate following current therapies. Based on these findings, we advocate potential advantages of integrative approaches to couple therapy. We distinguish among ...

Although traditional behavioral couple therapy (TBCT) has garnered the most empirical support of any marital treatment, concerns have been raised about both its durability and clinical significance. Integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT) was designed to address some of these limitations by combining strategies for fostering emotional acceptance with the change-oriented strategies of TBCT....

The discovery or disclosure of an extramarital affair can have a devastating impact on partners, both individually and on the relationships. Research suggests that affairs occur relatively frequently in relationships and are a common presenting problem in couple therapy. However, despite their prevalence, there is little empirical treatment research in this area, and most therapists describe th...

The authors integrate findings from neurophysiology, affect regulation and attachment research, and apply them to treating couples. They observe that adult styles of relating to primary attachment figures parallel the attachment styles identified in infant–caregiver relationships. They work with couples on maintaining a state of attunement, providing a secure base, recognizing non-verbal signal...

The Marital Discord Model of Depression maintains that marital discord is an important antecedent in the development of depression. Although empirical evidence supports this premise, none of this research has been done with Latinos. The purpose of this study was to test the longitudinal relationship between marital satisfaction and depression among 99 Brazilian women. Using structural equation ...

This article discusses the outcome and process research on couple therapy and integrates the articles special section "Couples and Couple Therapy" into the discussion. All tested couple treatments show statistically significant effects relative to control groups, but there are no reliable differences between different theoretical models. Moreover, all tested approaches leave substantial numbers...