Chronic migraine (CM) is a leading cause of disability, worldwide. Research examining the systemic effects of CM is scant. Specifically, little is understood about the effects of migraine on CM patients' partners. Furthermore, the relational experiences of couples who deal with CM has been largely unexplored. Coming to better understand the systemic effects of migraine on couple relationships could enable more holistic biopsychosocial care for CM patients and their families. We utilized a phenomenological approach to study the CM experience in the context of couple relationships. We conducted dyadic interviews with eight chronic migraine patients and their partners about their experiences dealing with CM (N = 16). Six of the eight partners in our sample were also interviewed individually about their experience (14 interviews total). Data were gathered and analyzed using an iterative process. A team of seven researchers utilized an immersion/crystallization technique to analyze the data. Three major themes emerged from the analyses: (1) burdens and costs of migraines on partners, (2) coping with CM for partners, and (3) couple experience. Findings indicated that: partners of CM patients experience caregiving burdens; accepting the disorder's burdens and long-term presence appears to vitally improve coping for CM patients and partners alike; and couples dealing with CM experience both balance and imbalance in the perceived relational giving and taking that occurs between them. Suggestions for future research and the clinical implications of our study are provided.
Advocacy is an essential element to mental health practitioners' professional identity. Some scholars contend that many couple and family therapists lack the skill set needed to effectively advocate. However, these researchers often discuss advocacy solely on the macrolevel, which makes advocacy appear unidimensional and may feel out of reach for many practitioners. In this article, we argue that advocacy is not unidimensional, but consists of two levels: macro-and microlevel advocacy. Microlevel advocacy is client-centered and is effectively performed by couple and family therapists on a regular basis. By broadening the definition of advocacy to include the microlevel, we argue that advocacy is a common process of couple and family therapy that cuts across therapy models and is interwoven into the very being of a couple and family therapist. We present in this article a comprehensive case vignette to illustrate how microlevel advocacy may be performed by CFTs. Clinical and training implications are offered to help clinicians begin to bridge the gap between micro-and macrolevel advocacies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.