Journal of marital and family therapy最新文献

Physical aggression poses a serious ethical concern for couple therapists, particularly when dealing with recent mutual physical intimate partner violence (IPV). We interviewed 12 expert clinician researchers to explore their views on treating couples with recent (~6 months) mutual IPV and analyzed the data using a hybrid inductive-deductive approach to thematic analysis. Most (83.3%) participants were willing to treat such couples. Participants emphasized assessing the context and function of IPV, using clinical judgment to determine treatment suitability. They provided assessment recommendations and suggested standardized questionnaires and separate in-depth discussions with partners to understand context and ensure safety. Intervention recommendations included applying traditional couple therapy to address IPV, helping couples manage conflict, and enhancing motivation and safety. Participants highlighted barriers and supports surrounding needed resources, lack of guidelines, liability concerns, training, and telehealth concerns. Results inform the development of IPV assessment guidelines for couple therapists.

The lasting impacts of incarceration can deeply affect the family unit. While family services are crucial for promoting reunification and stability, these services are often underutilized and difficult for families to access as they navigate re-entry after prison. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, eight men released from incarceration participated in interviews to share their perspectives on family-based services, particularly family therapy. Four key themes emerged from the interviews: beliefs and emerging awareness of family therapy, obstacles to accessing therapy, therapeutic needs and goals, and advocacy for improved services. Insights and recommendations for re-entry service providers and family therapists are discussed.

Rising divorce rates in Mexico highlight the need to address the emotional and relational effects of family transitions on children. This conceptual-clinical paper presents an integrative art therapy framework that weaves narrative, systemic, and attachment perspectives through the creation of a family book, a creative ritual that functions as both a narrative container and a transitional object. Grounded in clinical practice, this process supports emotional expression, meaning making, and the strengthening of family bonds within reconfigured family systems. Using a case illustration, the paper shows how collaborative art-making fosters communication, resilience, and secure attachment during parental separation. The discussion emphasizes the relevance of creative therapeutic rituals for supporting adaptation, reducing emotional distress, and promoting continuity across homes. This approach positions family-centered art therapy as a valuable component of clinical practice and emerging policy initiatives aimed at safeguarding children's emotional well-being during divorce.

The maintenance of stable and satisfied relationships is important for African American (AA) couples, but few studies examine their unique issues. This study offers a nuanced picture of AA relationships by exploring four race-specific factors: (1) components of the partners' discussions about race; (2) perceived supportiveness of these discussions; (3) partners' report of an AA couple identity; and (4) partners' belief in the uniqueness of AA relationships. 137 AA adults in mixed gender relationships with an AA partner completed survey questionnaires, including individual- and relational-level race-related constructs. Results of descriptive statistics identified a pattern regarding the occurrence, frequency, and content of race-related conversations. Correlational and linear regression analyses elucidated relationships among frequency and supportiveness of race-related conversations and both cultural and couple outcomes. These results are discussed in context with the extant literature regarding AA couples, and both research and clinical strengths-based future directions and implications are provided.

Premature discontinuation from couple therapy presents a substantial challenge for clients, therapists, and society. Inconsistent data on the frequency and reasons for premature discontinuation may be attributed to a lack of methodological rigor in assessing the phenomenon. This study addresses this gap by developing the Disclosed Reasons Of Partners' PrEmature Discontinuation in Couple Therapy Questionnaire (DROPPED-CT), a comprehensive instrument designed to assess the reasons why couples prematurely discontinue therapy. Utilizing a mixed-method approach, the DROPPED-CT was developed through the integration of qualitative and quantitative data. The questionnaire demonstrates strong potential for enhancing the consistency of construct operationalization and improving the comparability of research findings. By identifying factors contributing to premature discontinuation, this instrument can inform therapists and clinics in tailoring their services, potentially increasing treatment efficacy and reducing discontinuation rates. A DROPPED-CT Short Version was also created.

In this study, we examined whether family adversity and parental marital quality were associated with family-of-origin relational ethics, a hallmark feature of contextual therapy theory. Data were collected from 211 adult clients at a university-based therapy center between 2014 and 2018. A three-step hierarchical regression model was tested, controlling for age and gender. Parental marital happiness and parental infidelity, as well as indicators of family adversity such as physical abuse experiences and living with a parent or caregiver with drug dependence in childhood, significantly correlated with family-of-origin relationships. The entire model explained 45% of the variance of the outcome. Findings provide empirical evidence of the relationship between recalled experiences of family adversity, parental marital quality, and relational ethics in one's family, as hypothesized by contextual therapy theory. Clinical implications of these findings include the need for a thorough assessment of family-of-origin factors and relational dynamics when working with adult individuals.