Individual,Marital, and Family Therapy

Two therapists have recently suggested that marital therapy is either a shadow of individual therapy (Robert Harper) or eclipsed by family therapy (Jay Haley). We offer an apologia for marital therapy. We suggest that empirical evidence shows that it works. Further, clients often request it and resist a redefinition of marital concerns as individual or family problems. Finally, people value a focus on the marriage because (a) it blends individual rights and communal responsibilities and (b) it is the only voluntary relationship between dyads with the family. We conclude that marital therapy, when requested and appropriate, is legitimate and effective.