Effectiveness of cotherapists versus single therapists and immediate versus delayed treatment in behavioral marital therapy.

Mehlman, Susan K.; Baucom, Donald H.; Anderson, Daniel

doi:10.1037/0022-006x.51.2.258

Cited by 32 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…A number of smaller studies have also attempted to identify the “active ingredients” in BCT in a number of augmentation or dismantling studies and have generally found that interventions including communication skills and problem‐solving training, behavioral exchanges/contracting, or a combination are equally effective (Baucom, ; Emmelkamp, van der Helm, MacGillavry, & van Zanten, ; Ewart, ; Jacobson, ). Other studies regarding the optimal delivery of BCT have concluded that one couple therapist is equally as effective as a co‐therapy team (Mehlman, Baucom, & Anderson, ), and treating one couple at a time is preferable to employing BCT to couples in a group format (Hahlweg, Schindler, Revenstorf, & Brengelmann, ).…”

Section: Efficacy Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive‐Behavioral Couple Therapies: Review of the Evidence for the Treatment of Relationship Distress, Psychopathology, and Chronic Health Conditions

2016

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Cognitive-behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) is an approach to assisting couples that has strong empirical support for alleviating relationship distress. This paper provides a review of the empirical status of CBCT along with behavioral couple therapy (BCT), as well as the evidence for recent applications of CBCT principles to couple-based interventions for individual psychopathology and medical conditions. Several meta-analyses and major reviews have confirmed the efficacy of BCT and CBCT across trials in the United States, Europe, and Australia, and there is little evidence to support differential effectiveness of various forms of couple therapy derived from behavioral principles. A much smaller number of effectiveness studies have shown that successful implementation in community settings is possible, although effect sizes tend to be somewhat lower than those evidenced in randomized controlled trials. Adapted for individual problems, cognitive-behavioral couple-based interventions appear to be at least as effective as individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) across a variety of psychological disorders, and often more effective, especially when partners are substantially involved in treatment. In addition, couple-based interventions tend to have the unique added benefit of improving relationship functioning. Findings on couple-based interventions for medical conditions are more varied and more complex to interpret given the greater range of target outcomes (psychological, relational, and medical variables).

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Section: Efficacy Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive‐Behavioral Couple Therapies: Review of the Evidence for the Treatment of Relationship Distress, Psychopathology, and Chronic Health Conditions

2016

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“…These results are striking when compared with the literature. On the one hand, the validity of the MICS (Hops et al, 1972), which is the most commonly used observational coding system in the area to assess the couples' communication skills, should be questioned given the partial or total failure of the system to monitor change in our study and in other studies, despite the fact that paper-and-pencil tests indicated significant improvement of the treated couples in comparison to the control couples (Baucom, 1982;Boelens et al, 1980;Mehlman et al, 1983). On the other hand, the magnitude of the clinical significance of the results is in contrast to the literature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…The MICS has also been used in a number of controlled treatment outcome studies yielding mixed results. The treated couples showed (a) a significant increase of positive and a significant decrease of negative behaviors when compared with the control couples (Jacobson, 1977(Jacobson, , 1978; (b) a significant decrease of negative behaviors, but no significant change with regard to the positive behaviors (Baucom, 1982;Mehlman, Baucom, & Anderson, 1983); and (c) no significant change in either area (Boelens, Emmelkamp, MacGillavery, & Markvoort, 1980;O'Leary & Turkewitz, 1981). These mixed results may be due to the different treatment strategies; however, the summary codes, positive and negative behaviors, are too global to test the changes of the couples' specific communication skills.…”

Section: Validity As a Measure Of Changementioning

confidence: 89%

Effects of behavioral marital therapy on couples' communication and problem-solving skills.

Hahlweg¹,

Revenstorf²,

Schindler³

1984

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

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Common complaints presented by couples who seek behavioral marital therapy (BMT) are lack of communication and inability to solve problems. This study concerns itself with the following questions: (a) Do couples change their communication and problem-solving behavior when treated with BMT? (b) Are these changes significant in a clinical sense? (c) Do treated couples change both the frequency and the sequence or pattern of their communication? Three samples were used as follows: 29 couples treated with BMT, 14 waiting-list control couples, and 12 nondistressed couples. Behavioral codings obtained from couples' videotaped problem discussions provided the measure for communication and problem solving. The results of the frequency analysis showed that the treatment was effective in changing the base rates of the couples' communication skills in the expected direction and to a clinically significant extent. Changes became even more apparent when methods of sequential analysis were used. The interaction patterns of the treated couples closely resembled the pattern exhibited by the nondistressed couples while the waiting-list couples did not change at all during their waiting time. However, one unexpected finding emerged. After therapy, BMT couples appeared to be sensitized to react to aversive stimuli from their spouses. In general, the results point to the value of behavioral observation in order to improve therapeutic interventions on an empirical basis.Perhaps the most common complaint presented by couples who seek marital therapy is lack of communication (Birchler, 1979). Therefore, some form of communication skills training is germane to any treatment program for relationship problems (Jacobson & Margolin, 1979). Accordingly, in most behavioral marital therapy (BMT) programs communication training (CT) and problem-solving training (PST) are an integral part of the treatment. This focus on communication is due not only to the obvious needs of the clients but also follows directly from theoretical assumptions borrowed from Social Learning

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“…The 'standard model' of BMT, as exemplified in say Jacobson & Margolin (1979), has proven robust enough to warrant further refinement and development. The more adroit integration of cognitive-affective components of therapy remains one such challenge, as does the exploration of other parameters of therapy procedure, such as group versus conjoint treatments, or mixing individual with conjoint sessions (see Truax & Jacobson, this issue; also Mehlman, Baucom & Anderson, 1983;Halweg, Revenstorf & Schindler, 1982).…”

Section: Treatment Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural Marital Therapy — Setting an Agenda for the 1990s

Blampied

1989

Behav. change

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The strength of behavioural marital therapy is seen to lie in its close links between theory, assessment and therapy. Issues raised by contributions to this special issue are reviewed as they bear on each of these domains and the implications they have for the next decade of research and practice are discussed. Some problems with the prevailing cognitive-behavioural models of marital functioning are noted, the difficulties of establishing effective clinical use of research innovations in assessment are lamented, and the need for innovation in therapy to meet the demands of diverse client groups is considered. An appeal is made for more attention to be given to maintenance and transfer (generalisation) issues. Finally, it is suggested that the decade of the 1990s become the decade of prevention research.

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Effectiveness of cotherapists versus single therapists and immediate versus delayed treatment in behavioral marital therapy.

Cited by 32 publications

References 28 publications

Cognitive‐Behavioral Couple Therapies: Review of the Evidence for the Treatment of Relationship Distress, Psychopathology, and Chronic Health Conditions

Cognitive‐Behavioral Couple Therapies: Review of the Evidence for the Treatment of Relationship Distress, Psychopathology, and Chronic Health Conditions

Effects of behavioral marital therapy on couples' communication and problem-solving skills.

Behavioural Marital Therapy — Setting an Agenda for the 1990s

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