Parents in couple therapy: An intervention targeting marital and coparenting relationships

Abstract

This article describes the treatment framework and core therapeutic principles of the integrative brief systemic intervention (IBSI), a manualized six‐session intervention intended for parents seeking couple therapy. IBSI aims to work on the couple's presenting problem, considering its specific impact in the marital and coparenting domains. The basic premise of IBSI is to consider that, when working with couples who have children, therapeutic work on their coparenting alliance may be used as a lever, as both parents may be particularly motivated to improve their relationship for their children's benefit. Increasing the coparenting alliance may then facilitate work on deeper conflicts within the marital relationship. The core therapeutic principles of IBSI are: (1) joining with the couple as romantic partners and a coparenting team from the start of the therapeutic process; (2) supporting the parents in increasing their awareness regarding their children's behavior and emotional experiences when facing their parents’ conflicts; and (3) working on the spill‐ and cross‐over effects between marital and coparenting relationships (i.e., exploring how conflict or positivity spills over from one relationship to the other or crosses over from one partner to the other). Therapeutic work following these main therapeutic principles is expected to improve the quality of both relationships. A clinical case is provided to illustrate the core therapeutic principles of IBSI.

Couple therapy with parents: Results from a pragmatic randomized controlled trial testing the Integrative Brief Systemic Intervention (IBSI)

“…IBSI is a manualized brief systemic couple intervention intended for parents seeking couple therapy. It aims to address the couple's presenting problem, considering its specific impact on the marital and coparenting domains (Darwiche et al, 2022). The intervention is divided into three phases.…”

“…The intermediate sessions (2–5) allow for work on the couple's objectives. To promote change during these sessions, therapists use various techniques borrowed from empirical research on coparenting and systemic treatment models (e.g., structural, strategic, transgenerational, and solutionist models; see Darwiche et al, 2022 for more details). The last session is dedicated to reflecting on the intervention and possible follow‐up.…”

“…Therapist adherence was monitored using an adherence scale (Imesch et al, 2019), assessing general systemic attitudes (one item) and IBSI‐specific strategies (eight items). The items were rated on a 6‐point Likert scale (from less adherence to more adherence); four points were the threshold.…”

Engaging in coparenting changes in couple therapy: Two contrasting cases

“…Therefore, we focused our investigation on coparenting process within a specific couple therapy for parents, the Integrative Brief Systemic Intervention (IBSI). This therapy approach particularly addresses the importance of articulating work on both the romantic and the coparenting relationships within systemic couple intervention (Darwiche et al, 2021). Consequently, it presumably produces changes in both relationships.…”

“…In IBSI, therapists are free to choose their techniques from various systemic models such as the structural, strategic, and transgenerational models (Bowen, 1984;Haley, 1963;Minuchin, 1974). IBSI is characterized by three main therapeutic principles (Darwiche et al, 2021): therapist aims to (a) engage partners as romantic partners and as a coparenting team from the start of the therapeutic process; (b) support the parents in increasing their awareness regarding their children's behavior and emotional experiences when facing their parents' conflicts; and (c) work on the spill-and crossover effects between coparenting and romantic relationships (i.e., explore how negativity or positivity spills from one relationship to the other or from one partner to the other).…”