Treating Relationship Distress And Psychopathology In Couples

Close relationships and mental health are two key ingredients to living a meaningful, fulfilled life. These two domains are the central focus of Treating Relationship Distress and Psychopathology in Couples: A Cognitive-Behavioural Approach. As expert clinicians, trainers, and researchers in the field of cognitive-behavioural couple therapy and couple-based interventions for psychopathology, the authors offer a highly accessible volume for experienced clinicians and trainees alike. This book details the most recent innovations in CBCT, a principle-based, flexible treatment approach for couples with a wide range of relationship concerns, circumstances, and stages of life. Based on a clear conceptual framework, readers learn how to address individual and couple functioning in an integrated, comprehensive manner and how to apply principle-based interventions that directly flow from this framework. Treating Relationship Distress and Psychopathology in Couples was written by a team of five authors, born in four different countries and working together as a team for a number of years, providing a cohesive framework based on work in a variety of contexts. While staying close to research findings that inform treatment, they provide a text for clinicians at all levels of training and experience in working with couples.

Marriage and other long-term committed relationships are an integral part of our lives and confer many benefits. People in satisfying marriages report greater life happiness, live longer, and are less vulnerable to mental and physical illness. Unfortunately, many couples experience significant relationship distress and about half of marriages end in divorce. Among those who stay married, a notable number of couples remain in unstable, severely distressed marriages for years or even decades. Given the serious physical and psychological consequences of relationship distress and divorce for spouses and their children, it is clear that relationship science-the basic and applied study of relationship development, maintenance, and dysfunction-is of critical importance. The Oxford Handbook of Relationship Science and Couple Interventions showcases cutting-edge research in relationship science, including couple functioning, relationship education, and couple therapy. The book presents the most current definitions of and classifications for relationship dysfunction and discusses the latest research on the biological, psychological, and interpersonal causes and correlates of couple dysfunction and subsequent treatment implications. The latest findings regarding empirically supported prevention and treatment interventions for couple dysfunction are highlighted, as well as diversity and cultural issues in the context of working with couples. This Handbook will appeal to researchers who seek to understand the development of relationship distress and design interventions to prevent and treat couple distress and clinicians who are diagnosing, assessing, and treating couple dysfunction.

This essential handbook describes effective treatments for a particularly challenging clinical population: couples struggling with both relationship distress and individual mental health difficulties. Distinguished scientist-practitioners provide detailed accounts of their respective approaches, reviewing conceptual and empirical foundations as well as clinical procedures. Included are well-established treatments for couples in which one or both partners has anxiety, mood disorders, schizophrenia, substance abuse, sexual dysfunction, or physical aggression. Also covered are emerging couple-based approaches to managing personality disorders, PTSD, difficulties related to aging and physical illness, and other problems. Following a standard format to facilitate comparison across treatments, each chapter is illustrated with detailed case material. Provided are powerful insights and tools for couple and family therapists, clinicians providing individual therapy, and students in any mental health discipline.

How to disseminate effective, evidence-based interventions for couple therapy more widely. The field of couple therapy and prevention has made great strides over the past decades, and innovations continue as researchers, trainers, and clinicians employ recent findings to benefit couples and families. The most important questions now are: Are we ready to disseminate our effective interventions to the public and how do we do this? In this volume, reputable and internationally known researchers and clinicians describe the steps necessary to disseminate a public health model of couple therapy and prevention, including knowledge of risk and protective factors, "ready to use" resources (treatment manuals, psycho-educational materials), and effective training and supervision programs, and continuous quality control measures to monitor implementation. This volume is packed with information and recommendations, of use for researchers, therapists, students, and policy makers in improving dissemination of our evidence-based interventions, for the benefit of couples and families.

Depression is second after heart disease as the most damaging health condition in the world. The NHS has devoted huge resources to training thousands of psychological therapists to work in 'Improving Access to Psychological Therapies' services specifically to treat depression in adults and couple therapy has been identified as one of the effective ways of treating it. Couple Therapy for Depression is an integrative 20-session couple therapy designed to treat depression in couples where there is also relationship distress. Following the recommendations of the UK's National Institute for Clinical Excellence for a behaviourally-based couple therapy treatment, it draws on RCT studies of efficacy as well as 'best practice' in behavioural, cognitive, emotionally-focused, systemic, and psychodynamic couple therapies. Sticking closely to the competencies identified for the treatment of depression and relationship distress in couples, it outlines the ways in which couple therapists can reduce damaging interactions between couples, build emotional openness and closeness, improve communication and behaviour, change unhelpful cognitions and perceptions, and help the couple cope with the ordinary and not-so ordinary stresses that arise in the course of everyday relating. Written by couple therapists who understand deeply the unique challenges of doing therapy with couples, it is based on the training programme for Couple Therapy for Depression commissioned by the NHS for use in its Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services. It begins by describing the causes and consequences of depression, and then focuses on its impact on the adult couple. Highlighting the particular techniques needed in safe and effective work with distressed couples, it goes through the different ways in which the couple's feelings, thoughts, and behaviours need to be understood and worked with in order to reduce relationship distress. It outlines the treatment of 4 different couples to illustrate the therapy in action and will be helpful for any therapist wanting to enhance their work with couples.

Cognitive Behavioural Couple Therapy (CBCT) is an enhanced and contextually grounded approach that provides evidence-based strategies for working with couple distress, as well as individual psychopathology in the context of a distressed relationship. Cognitive Behavioural Couple Therapy: Distinctive Features explores this truly integrative and experiential way of working. This model has significantly widened the traditional CBT focus on cognition and behaviour to include an equal emphasis on emotion, stable individual differences and vulnerabilities, as well as an awareness of the importance of the environment and the wider context for couple relationships. Comprising 30 key points, and divided into two parts – Theory and Practice – this concise book includes numerous clinical examples that illustrate the key features of Cognitive Behavioural Couple Therapy. It will offer essential guidance for students, practitioners experienced in individual CBT, as well as practitioners of couple therapy from other theoretical orientations who require an accessible guide to the distinctive theoretical and practical features of this contemporary approach.

'Couple Therapy for Depression' is an integrative 20-session couple therapy designed to treat depression in couples where there is also relationship distress. Following the recommendations of the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a behaviourally based couple therapy treatment, it draws on randomised controlled trial studies of efficacy as well as 'best practice' in behavioural, cognitive, emotionally focused, systemic, and psychodynamic couple therapies.