Chapter 15

Question 1

What are the top reason that people seek professional assistance?

Answer 1

relationship problems

Question 2

How long do couples wait before seeking professional help?

Answer 2

2.5 years

Question 3

What gender especially avoids couples therapy?

Answer 3

men

until they are unhappy with their sex life

Question 4

Less than what fraction of divorcing couples receive treatment prior to divorce?

Answer 4

1/4

Question 5

What are the three main couples therapy approaches?

Answer 5

systems models

behavioral models

emotion models

Question 6

What is the goal and interventions of the systems model?

Answer 6

Goal: identify and change maladaptive rules governing the relationship

Key interventions:
Relabeling problematic behaviours
Reframing problematic interpretations

Question 7

What is the goal and interventions of the behavioral model?

Answer 7

Goal: change behaviours and thoughts behind the behaviours. Learn effective communication and problem solving skills

Key interventions
Behavioural exchanges and how behaviours are rewarded or punished
Communication training
Problem solving training

Question 8

What is the goal and interventions of the emotion model?

Answer 8

Encourage the expression of core emotional and healthy responses to those emotions

Help couples see that their relationship is a safe place to explore deep feelings, and to overcome one’s individual relationship history

Question 9

What are the extensions of the behavioral approach?

Answer 9

cognitive and integrative

Question 10

What is the goal and interventions of the cognitive behavioral couples therapy?

Answer 10

Goal: change adaptive thought patterns that lead to negative behaviors
Key interventions:
Change interpretations of each others’ behaviors
Selective attention for certain types of partner behaviour
Attributions for why partners behave as they do
Expectations about partners’ likely reactions
Assumptions about how relationships operate
Standards about how relationships should operate

Question 11

What is the goal and interventions of the integrative behavioral couples therapy?

Answer 11

Goal: some behaviours must be accepted rather than changed
Key interventions:
Empathic joining: reframe problem in a way that allows partner to join together
Unified detachment: view problems with less emotion
Tolerance building: accept that not all problems can be solved and must be tolerated

Question 12

What is the emotionally focused couples therapy?

Answer 12

Goal: help partners fill unmet attachment needs for one another
Key interventions:
Identify primary emotions - feelings of abandonment, rejection, shame, etc
Identify secondary emotions - anger and contempt - mask primary emotions

Question 13

What is the difference between efficacy studies and effectiveness studies?

Answer 13

randomly assigned to control group or type of study

real world settings, no random assignment

Question 14

Approximately 1/3 of couples who underwent therapy where recovered and (blank)% improved

Answer 14

20

changes maintained for majority of recovered/improved couples

Question 15

Different types of therapy have what level of efficacy?

Answer 15

same

Question 16

What are the results of the effectiveness studies?

Answer 16

success rates lower than efficacy studies

large number drop out of therapy

treatments for individuals more effective than for couples

Question 17

What is empathic joining?

What type of therapy is this part of?

Answer 17

reframe problem in a way that allows partner to join together

integrative

Question 18

What is unified detachment?

What type of therapy is this part of?

Answer 18

view problems with less emotion

integrative

Question 19

What is tolerance building?

What type of therapy is this part of?

Answer 19

accept that not all problems can be solved and must be tolerated

integrative