How Couples Can Improve Relationship Satisfaction For The Aver Couple?

The primary tool of this therapy is called The Couple’s Dialogue which teaches couples to communicate more effectively. It is structured to create emotional security that is required for people to communicate their insecurities and with one another to ultimately create an empathetic connection (Robbins, 2005). In the study Couples Therapy and Empathy: An Evaluation of the Impact of IRT on Partner Empathy Levels, Gelhert and Schmidt (2016) had adult couples complete twelve 90-minute treatment sessions and assessed them using the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI). The IRI is a self-report measure scored on a Likert scale from 0-4 that asks about the psychological viewpoint of others. Interestingly, the study found that over the course of 12 sessions of IRT, participants in the treatment group showed a steady increase in their empathy scores. These results indicate that focusing on empathy in IRT does affect people on an individual level in addition to empirically proven increases in marital satisfaction (Gelhert & Schmidt, 2016). This, along with other studies have shown that IRT helps people become more empathetic with their counterparts, which in turn could help ADHD couples understand each other more on an interpersonal level as well as help develop copping methods for ADHD symptoms. Additionally, when discussing romantic relationships earlier, it was articulated

Dysfunctional Relationships are relationships that do not perform their appropriate function; that is, they do not emotionally support the participants, foster communication among them, appropriately challenge them, or prepare or fortify them for life in the larger world. (Tessina 1)

After reading two articles it was interesting to note the differences and similarities between the two intellectual and highly respected individuals within the field of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT). Each makes many valid points yet with such opposing viewpoints. By taking a closer look at some specific areas one may see that though these men have different beliefs on how treatment should be conducted, there are also some parallels. Some of the topics will include the history and future of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT), what they agree and disagree on along with the challenges each has dealt with. Finally the author of this paper will provide insight as to what this means for her as she begins her journey to becoming a Marriage and Family therapist.

A later study was done on two couples in which the female partner had survived breast cancer. The findings supported the results reported in the first study, that the couple that was able to resolve their differences and experienced improvement in their relationship satisfaction was the couple that shared with each other more emotional experiencing and more affiliative behaviors. The variable of the health crisis had no bearing on the outcome of the improvement between the partners. In both healthy couples and those facing chronic illness, there was a commonality that the couple that improved shared more emotional and empathic exchanges in therapy

Marriage Counseling is one of the best ways to solve marital hitches than working them out alone. Having another opinion, sometimes if the best thing couples need. Robert Bringle and Diane Byers wrote is full detail in “Intentions to Seek Marriage Counseling” about how intentions to seek marriage counseling have many differences and similarities based on the spouse’s attitudes (299-304). Bringle and Byers believe, “Typically, persons seek marriage counseling after they decided to act on perceived need” (Bringle and Byers 299, par. 6). Reese Danley Kilgo, author of “Counseling Couples in Groups: Rationale and Methodology,” describes how counseling in groups is one of the most recent development in psychotherapy and marriage counseling (377). Kilgo believes that “Counseling is the use of this relationship to facilitate problem-solving and to teach interpersonal relationship skills” (377). Knowing more about your spouse can create a better relationship, though the knowledge about their personality. Kilgo states that “Marriage counseling requires couples to have self- understanding and acceptance; problem solving; improve personal relationship and greater happiness overall” (377). One of the major keys to counseling is that the counselor is efficient and that their skills in creating the relationship

Jane and Charlize is a homosexual monogamous couple who have been together for almost three years. The couple has been married for two years and a half. They were dating six months before deciding to get married. The couple attends therapy because they report feeling distant and having arguments a couple times a week. Taking the role of a therapist, I co-worked with another colleague during the third therapy session of the couple. The third session of the couple was based on the second stage of the Integrated Couple Therapy (ICT) model, stabilization (David, 2014, p. 66). This paper presents an analysis of the session I performed while working with the couple. This paper will analyze the couple’s presenting problem and their dysfunctional

Greensberg, L. S., & Johnson, S. M. (1988). Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples. New York, NY: The Guilford Publication, Inc.

As a marriage and family therapist, it is important to have a firm understanding of both who you are and your values. This concept, is ever present and most important during our training period. We start as individuals, with a passion that leads us to choose this career path and our own preconceived ideas about what it means to be a therapist. It is those preconceived notions or beliefs, that become assumptions and therapeutic viewpoints underlying our treatment methods. There are eight, beliefs and assumptions, in particular, that can contribute to what therapeutic model of treatment we choose to use in our sessions.

and distressed and they will have difficulty with their emotions. When a couple struggles with connecting and communicating with one another they may be struggling due to their attachment style. When going to couples counseling they can learn skills and techniques to teach them to be emotional available and learn trust and commitment and improve their relationship and happiness.

Marriage is one of the most precious relationships known to humanity and continues to be the foundation of society and families. What is more, marriage is the blending of two very distinct people with their own personalities, desires and ambitions into one, which can create conflict. In fact, every couple faces conflict in marriage; and yet, why do some couples seem to navigate conflict while others eventually break down and fall apart? One study states that, “Millions of individuals experience marital distress, destructive conflict, and divorce every year” (Markman 1). In fact, one study suggests marriages have a 20% chance of ending in the first five years (Worthington, et al 15). However, study after study indicates that communication is a major variable in marital satisfaction (Carroll, et al 531). Sarah Carroll states, “How a couple interacts is a key indicator of the quality and stability of their relationship. Furthermore, the quality of couple communication has been found to be one of the best predictors of relationship satisfaction” (Carroll, et al 531). Yet research shows that only 19% of couples ever seek professional help in becoming better communicators (Worthington, et al 15). Therefore, it is imperative for all couples to understand the importance of communication in their relationship and aim to grow so that their marriage can be healthy and thriving. These skills include constructive communication, emotional support, encoding and decoding, initiator tendency

Gottman method couple therapy or Gottman's Sound Relationship House (SRH) theory (Gottman, 1999) is grounded on years of John Gottman’s research and exploration about what makes marital relationships succeed or fail. The outcomes of these studies reveal that couples with successful

Many couples experiencing relationship distress choose not to seek therapeutic help. “Recent estimates founded that only 19% of intact couples seek any type of counseling or therapy for their relationship and that only 37% of divorced couples sought any couple therapy prior to divorcing” (Cicila, Georgia, & Doss, 2014). Reasons why couples decide not to seek treatment are because of the perceived stigma associated with therapy, financial burden, and logistical concerns, such as difficulty scheduling appointments or finding transportation to appointments (Cicila et al., 2014). These findings show couples would rather keep issues between themselves than talk to a therapist who has the skills and expertise in marital discord.

Prior to discussing the ethical dilemmas in counseling married couples one first has to define what the counseling session would look like. First and foremost, one should note that when counseling a couple, the counselor must identify the “couple” as the “client” (Gerald Corey, 2011). In other word, the counselor has a trifold counseling experience. The counselor must not only get to know each part of the couple as an individual on their own but also the couple as a whole. This process is made easier through the initial meeting with the couple.

To measure their satisfaction, the RDAS evaluates and differentiates the couple’s dyadic adjustment in both distressed and nondistressed relationships (Gangamma et al., 2012). Lower scores on this scale indicate greater relationship distress while higher scores indicate greater relationship satisfaction (Gangamma et al., 2012). Thus, both of these measures may aid the therapist in determining each partner’s perception of unfairness and satisfaction within their relationship (Gangamma et al., 2012). These measures also provide the therapist with a greater understanding of where each partner stands in regards to their relationship. Moreover, this greater understanding of the relationship can help the therapist determine a good starting point for contextual couple’s

If you and your hubby’s libidos are matched evenly, don’t worry if sex takes a back seat on having kids. If one wants more nookie than the other, however, Meredith advises making room for sex in a busy schedule. “That might mean getting enough rest and sleep the night before, cancelling any other commitments, getting the kids minded, turning off your phones and computers, and doing nice things to each other,” she says. “Think about what the other person wants, not just what you feel like giving. So, ask them, take it in turns and