This is a model for any relationship and for marriage counseling in particular. The premise is that a well-developed agreement between the two partners is necessary for marital success, and that disharmony in marriage is a sign of an unclear or unworkable contract. (Author)

The use of the EPPS in pre-marital and marital therapy is described. Six pairs of related needs are established, i.e., deference and dominance; order and change; exhibition and intraception; autonomy and affiliation; succorance and nurturance; abasement and aggression. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the usefulness of the EPPS.…

Incongruency in role expectations produces strain in the marriage. By studying 104 couples divided into experimental and control groups, it was found that there was no more role expectation incongruency in the couples seeking marriage counseling than in those not seeking counseling. It might be that the major differences lies in how couples of…

Follow-up data from 10 couples who used behavior contracts in marriage counseling are presented. Conclusions suggest that contracts are effective in initiating positive marital behavior but not necessary for continued marital satisfaction. Rationale and specifics of contract construction are detailed. (Author)

Both spouses were placed in separate mixed counseling groups in which the focus was on interpersonal relationships. Marital problems were discussed only as related to feelings experienced in the group. In the case cited, results were favorable. (Author)

Family theory is related to work with marital dysfunction, with three areas highlighted: (1) therapist's view of his place in family; (2) child's place in marital strategy; and (3) place of blame in marriage struggle. A model to differentiate "good guys" and "bad guys" is presented. Presented at New York State Psychological Association, Spring…

A review of early studies of the MMPI in marital practice and research indicates its usefulness in the field. Suggestions are made for more valid usage of this instrument. (Author)

The chairman of the Board of Marriage Counselor Examiners of New Jersey offers his views on what marriage is, what it should be, and some ways in which counselors can facilitate change. (CJ)

Mental illness constitutes a major hazard to public health. The author advodates the implementation of programs of primary prevention, using the marital enrichment group as a model to follow in promoting mental health and specific protection. (Author)

The Ob/Gyn Department of Rambam University, Haifa, Israel, recently established a Center for Sexual Counseling, Therapy and Education. The Center's concept and format of therapy, and some preliminary observations, are presented. (Author)

The spouses were counseled jointly with a cognitive approach and separately with behavior modification techniques for the husband's obesity and the wife's lack of affective verbalization. After eight weeks, the husband had lost thirty pounds and the wife's affective language had increased markedly. (Author)

The author focuses on the needs that married couples try to satisfy at the level of nonconsciousness and which, as a rule, produce problems at the cognitive and behavioral levels. Suggestions for the marital therapist are included. (Author)

The authors propose the utilization of IDENTICOM as a mechanism for alleviating marital difficulties within the family unit. IDENTICOM is based on a combination of a behavioral and phenomenological model, using video tapes. (Author)

The courtship contracts serve as conceptual frames of reference to understand the normative structure and the psychodynamic components in distress. The contract established during courtship is explored in order to develop, during the time of marital crisis, explicitly negotiated standards. The goal is to re-educate the spouses to meet each others'…

The counselor, in working with troubled families, must help couples realize that they may be dealing with each other as narcissistic projections or as people from the past. (Author)