Theory and Method of Marriage Therapy in Contemporary Africa

This paper describes the theory and practice of marriage therapy in use by the author in his marital therapy process across two regions of Africa. The approach is grounded on an inclusive theoretical perspective inspired by the notion of the basic virtues of a healthy marriage as understood in Africa, and the place of the role theory approach in intervening between opposing parties. The theme developed is that a viable contemporary African marriage therapy practice is derivable from this indigenous model. The major discussion highlights the key guiding orientations and processes in implementing such a practice. A comparative view of the Euro-American emphasis in couple therapy is presented as a background for identifying the difference between the Western and the African perspectives.An initial version of the paper was presented as a Guest Lecture to the members of Staff and Graduate Students of the School of Psychology of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in Durban, South Africa. The author is grateful to Prof. Inge Petersen and her team of staff of the school for their invitation and encouragement.