Marital satisfaction in covenant versus standard marriages: Is there a difference?

After the rapid increase of the American divorce rate in the late 20th century, one of the most conspicuous efforts of the marriage movement in the 1990s that was used to increase marital stability was the legislation of the covenant marriage license, a more restricted marriage license issued in three different states of the U.S. To investigate the marital life of newlywed covenant versus standard couples, a large-scale 5-year couple study was conducted between 1998 and 2003 in Louisiana. The present study uses this large-sample, multiple-wave, multiple-group dyadic dataset to examine differences in co-development and divorce rates in 297 covenant and 380 standard mixed-sex couples using a multiple group growth curve modeling and survival analysis. We examined differences in marital trajectories between covenant and standard couples as well as between husbands and wives in each marital group. The results show (1) that the couples in both groups experienced, on average, declines in marital satisfaction, and such a decline was slower in covenant husbands than their wives as well as those in standard marriages, and (2) that co-development in marital satisfaction was more prominent in standard marriages than in covenant marriages, meaning standard couple's marital satisfaction declined at a more similar rate than that of covenant couples. We provide possible explanations and discuss practical implications.     

From Resistance to Buy-In: Experiences of Clinicians in Training Using Feedback-Informed Treatment

In this qualitative research study, the authors use grounded theory analysis to examine the experiences of clinicians in training and use client feedback to inform treatment. Twenty-six marriage and family therapy graduate students in their first or second semester of clinical practicum participated in this study. Participants were trained in eliciting and responding to client feedback at the end of every therapy session. At the end of the semester, participants reflected on their learning experience. Participant experiences reflected a developmental learning process beginning with significant challenges followed by positive clinical changes and positive clinician changes, culminating in overall buy-in regarding the importance of client feedback for nearly all clinicians. The results support the literature that client feedback directly informs the therapeutic process while suggesting important recommendations for training new clinicians in learning to use client feedback.     

Poetry in Existential Psychotherapy with Couples and Families

The use of poetry during the process of existential psychotherapy with couples and families is described and illustrated. In this approach, poems can be utilized to help the couple and/or family notice meaning potentials in the future, actualize and make use of such meaning potentials in the here and now, and re-collect and honor meanings previously actualized and deposited in the past.     

The Use of Communication Technology in Private Practice: Ethical Implications and Boundary Dilemmas in Therapy

This study investigates the use of communication technology (CT) by therapists in private practice. CT has exploded in the last decade and therapists have begun to implement this technology in their work. It is important to understand better the types of technology therapists are using and how they decide which devices are most useful for clinical practice. Additionally, the availability of the therapist has long been debated and CT provides media to make therapists readily available. Results show that therapists have boundary concerns and ethical dilemmas regarding CT and often feel unprepared to handle inappropriate out-of-session contacts when they occur.     

Perceived Criticism and Marital Adjustment Predict Depressive Symptoms in a Community Sample

Depressive symptoms are related to a host of negative individual and family outcomes; therefore, it is important to establish risk factors for depressive symptoms to design prevention efforts. Following studies in the marital and psychiatric literatures regarding marital factors associated with depression, we tested two potential predictors of depressive symptoms: marital adjustment and perceived spousal criticism. We assessed 249 spouses from 132 married couples from the community during their first year of marriage and at three time points over the next 10 years. Initial marital adjustment significantly predicted depressive symptoms for husbands and wives at all follow-ups. Further, perceived criticism significantly predicted depressive symptoms at the 5- and 10-year follow-ups. However, at the 1-year follow-up, this association was significant for men but not for women. Finally, a model where the contributions of marital adjustment and perceived criticism were tested together suggested that both play independent roles in predicting future depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the potential importance of increasing marital adjustment and reducing perceived criticism at the outset of marriage as a way to reduce depressive symptoms during the course of marriage.