In this article, we propose the vulnerability cycle as a construct for understanding and working with couples' impasses. We expand the interactional concept of couples' reciprocal patterns to include behavioral and subjective dimensions, and articulate specific processes that trigger and maintain couples' entanglements. We consider the vulnerability cycle as a nexus of integration in which "vul...

This article describes an innovative model of couples therapy designed to mitigate marital instability. The authors suggest that combining ongoing couples therapy with a separate relationship-focused group for each partner favorably impacts each person's neuropsychophysiological regulation and their ability to participate in a stable intimate marriage. The neurobiology of attachment theory is s...

Parenthood changes couples' relationships across multiple domains, generally decreasing relationship quality, sexual satisfaction, and sexual frequency. Emerging research suggests that gay couples who are parenting might experience similar challenges. However, such changes might have even more profound implications for gay couples' health, and in particular their HIV risk, given the somewhat di...

In this article, we review the major conceptual and clinical influences and trends in the history of couple therapy to date, and also chronicle the history of research on couple therapy. The evolving patterns in theory and practice are reviewed as having progressed through four distinctive phases: Phase I--Atheoretical Marriage Counseling Formation (1930-1963); Phase II--Psychoanalytic Experime...

An ability to form and develop a collaborative alliance with each partner and to enlist their support for relationship-focused therapy, for example by: responding empathically in order to validate the experience of each partner, especially their emotional experience accepting and exploring each partner’s reservations about engaging in couple therapy gauging when and whether separate sessions ar...

The transition to parenthood has been associated with declines in testosterone among partnered fathers, which may reflect males' motivation to invest in the family. Moreover, preliminary evidence has found that couples show correlations in hormone levels across pregnancy that may also be linked to fathers' preparation for parenthood. The current study used repeated-measures sampling of testoste...

introduction: marital satisfaction is a positive relationship with spouse’s family, positive dynamism in the original family, self-esteem and religious homogeneity of couples. religion is one of the most effective spiritual fulcrums that are able to provide the meaning of life in every moment of life. religious beliefs and credence are important factors in marital satisfaction. the main purpose...

The association between perceived similarity and liking for a romantic partner was examined in college students’ relationships over the course of one year. Despite substantial evidence that similarity breeds attraction, perceived attribute similarity was positively correlated with liking only in highcommitment relationships. In low-commitment relationships, perceived dissimilarity was associate...