Behavioral‐Systems Marital Therapy: Dealing With Resistance

Spinks, Suzanne H.; Birchler, Gary R.

doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.1982.00169.x

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The clinical literature on marriage and family therapy is replete with references to resistance or therapist-couple struggle and offers numerous procedures for circumventing it (e.g., Anderson & Stewart, 1983;Boszonnenyi-Nagy, Grunebaum, & Ulrich, 1991;Fisch, Weakland, & Segal, 1982;Lazarus & Fay, 1982;Madanes, 1981;Roberto, 1991 ;Spinks & Birchler, 1982). An assumed key to successful outcome has been for the therapist to win the "battle for structure" (Neil1 & Kniskern, 1982) and set the rules of therapy (Boylin & Briggie, 1986).…”

Section: Intrapsychic Versus Interactional Conceptualization Of Strugglementioning

confidence: 99%

Narrative and Interactional Process for Preventing Harmful Struggle in Therapy: An Integrative Empirical Model

Butler

Bird

2000

J Marital Family Therapy

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Resistance or struggle in therapy looms large as a predictor of treatment outcomes. This study organizes the significant empirical data on struggle into a coherent, operational framework for use by therapists in preventing and/or ameliorating harmful struggle in therapy. First, we review the prevalence and significance of struggle. Second, we offer a historical and conceptual overview, with emphasis on a contemporary interactional/systemic perspective on struggle. Third, we provide a synthesis of peer-reviewed research, profiling struggle at speech-act and episode levels of interaction process and across assessment/joining, intervention, and integration-consolidation phases of therapy. Fourth, based upon this review, we propose a three-factor model--consisting of eliciting dialogue, enactments, and accommodation--for successful therapy process relative to the occurrence of struggle.

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Section: Intrapsychic Versus Interactional Conceptualization Of Strugglementioning

confidence: 99%

Narrative and Interactional Process for Preventing Harmful Struggle in Therapy: An Integrative Empirical Model

Butler

Bird

2000

J Marital Family Therapy

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“…Concerning struggle, marriage and family therapy literature is replete with references to “client resistance” and offers numerous interventive responses (see Boszormenyi‐Nagy, Grunebaum, & Ulrich, 1991; Fisch, Weakland, & Segal, 1982; Lazarus & Fay, 1982; Madanes, 1981; Minuchin & Fishman, 1981; Roberto, 1991; Spinks & Birchler, 1982). Therapist responses to resistance in marital therapy have also been suggested (see Bitter, 1993; Coche, 1990).…”

Section: Struggle and Cooperation In Therapymentioning

confidence: 99%

Couple‐Responsible Therapy Process: Positive Proximal Outcomes

Butler¹,

Wampler

1999

Family Process

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Therapist-couple struggle vs. cooperation is linked to clinical outcome. This research conceptualizes and investigates treatment process as it relates to the occurrence of struggle versus cooperation. Models of couple-responsible and therapist-responsible process in couple therapy were developed. Couple-responsible process consists of enactments, accommodation, and inductive process. Therapist-responsible process consists of primary therapist-couple interaction, therapist interpretation, and direct instruction. In counterbalanced order, 25 couples were exposed to couple-responsible and therapist-responsible episodes during one therapy session. Couples reviewed videotapes of the episodes and completed measures of responsibility, struggle, and cooperation. Perceived responsibility was higher and struggle was lower during couple-responsible episodes. No difference in cooperation was found. Presence or absence of a contrast condition, where couples reported on one therapist process after already experiencing its opposite, led to main effects for responsibility and struggle, and mediated effects of struggle and cooperation. Generally speaking, responsibility was even higher during couple-responsible episodes and even lower during therapist-responsible episodes when contrast was present. Similarly, struggle was even lower during couple-responsible episodes and even higher during therapist-responsible episodes when contrast was present. For both couple-responsible and therapist-responsible episodes, cooperation was negatively affected by a shift from the prior, opposite therapist process. Significant proportions of the variance in responsibility, struggle, and cooperation, however, were not accounted for by therapist process alone.

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“…Spinks & Birchler, 1982) if the shadow reality comes to the surface. The catastrophe may involve the ending of the marriage, a radical revision in sense of self, a shattering of all that one has believed in, or embarrassment over having "lived a lie."…”

Section: Why Do People Avoid Shadow Realities?mentioning

confidence: 98%