The Evaluation And Treatment Of Marital Conflict

by Guerin Jr., Philip J; Fay, Leo F.; Burden, Susan L.; Kautto, Judith Gilbert

• ISBN13: 9780465021123
• ISBN10: 0465021123
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1987-05-29
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

Couples seek therapy for a variety of reasons, from short-lived adjustment difficulties to deeply entrenched conflict. Yet marital therapy has lacked a conceptual framework for matching treatment to a couple's particular problem. This outstanding new book, by a team of researcher-clinicians from the Center for Family Learning, is the first to address this deficiency.The authors systematically assess the duration and intensity of a couple's present conflict, as well as how the spouses function alone and in their extended families. They have found that troubled couples tend to fall into one of four categories, each best suited to a particular treatment program. The mild conflicts of stage one, for example, respond well to a six-week educational program; whereas the extreme anger and alienation of stage three is best handled without direct confrontation.The authors describe their evaluation and treatment proceduresincluding assessing multigenerational systems, dealing with triangles, and reducing emotional arousaland illustrate their explanations with lengthy case illustrations and session-by-session transcripts. Because it offers a carefully articulated, clinically tested method of treating a broad range of marital problems, this valuable book makes a unique and much-needed contribution to the field.

Author Biography

Philip J. Guerin, Jr. is Director of the Center for Family Learning and the editor of Family Therapy: Theory and Practice (1976). Leo F. Fay is Associate Professor of Sociology at Fairfield University and a family therapist at the Center for Family Learning. Susan L. Burden is Director of the Marital Project at the Center for Family Learning. Judith Gilbert Kautto is Director of Postgraduate Education at the Center for Family Learning.

Table of Contents

Introduction A Model of Marriage and Marital Conflict	p. 3
The Nature and Causes of Marital Conflict	p. 9
Sources of Marital Stress	p. 33
Triangles	p. 61
Triangles Within the Family	p. 83
Dimensions of the Individual in Marital Conflict	p. 120
Evaluating and Treating the Four Stages of Marital Conflict	p. 141
Identifying the Stage of Marital Conflict	p. 143
The Treatment of Stage I	p. 168
The Treatment of Stage II	p. 186
The Treatment of Stage III	p. 210
The Treatment of Stage IV	p. 248
Bibliography	p. 275
Index	p. 279
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