Reviews economic trends (marriage rate, growing labor market, manufacturing decline, and poverty) and contradictions in policy (family values vs. valuing families, opportunity vs. obligation to work, having a job vs. living wage). Outlines eight policy approaches in child care, job creation, minimum wage, housing, social safety net,…

Examines themes about couples and families portrayed in 26 Disney animated classics and recent movies. Four overarching themes were identified: family relationships are a strong priority; families are diverse, but the diversity is often simplified; fathers are elevated, while mothers are marginalized; and couple relationships are created by…

Four cases are presented to illustrate the clinical usefulness of a new, statistically validated, visual-verbal test to evaluate couple relationships at seven different stages of the life cycle. Results from this test can be correlated with dimensions measured with another instrument, allowing to evaluate whether any progress has taken place as a…

Examines data from interviews with 47 middle-class, dual-earner couples with children, who perceive themselves as successful in balancing family and work. Details how these couples practiced marital partnership in ways that supported effective work-family balance. Data indicates that these successful couples equally share housework and emotion…

Asserts that instead of putting children at risk through more costly and politically problematic child support enforcement strategies, policymakers should reinforce rather than undermine the social ideal of marriage. Discusses the logic of shotgun weddings, the results of no-fault divorces, punishment of innocent fathers by harsh child support…

Compares the predictors of marital well-being for African American and European American women by focusing on the influences of individual, interpersonal, and social and economic resources. Emotional health, trusting one's spouse, and feeling underbenefited in the relationship were significant predictors of marital well-being for both groups.…

Ethical standards for instructors of marriage and family counselors have not been well defined in the International Association for Marriage and Family Counselors code of ethics. This article describes some abuses of power in the instructor- student relationship and calls for the creation of a code of ethics for marriage and family counselor…

Discusses several myths and underscores some active ingredients of couples counseling. The adjunctive value of bibliotherapy is presented and the interactions among such components as similarity, compatibility, mood, disposition, temperament, and communication are elucidated. Clinical vignettes illustrate several crucial issues and principles.…

Client demands for immediate relief plus restrictions on the duration of therapy brought about by managed care are pressures that influence the marriage counselor. This article discusses the use of the TFA model as a viable, solution-focused approach to marriage counseling. (Contains 19 references.) (Author)

Given increases in the use of technology in counseling, family counselors must become aware of the ethical considerations for infusing technology in their training and practice methods. Standards for Internet counseling practice, supervision practice, and the training of family counselors have not kept pace with the advances in technology. An…

This article argues that people's choice of work and love is related to similar unresolved childhood issues and that career burnout and couple burnout are related to failure in the existential quest aimed at solving these issues. The existence of a relationship between career burnout and couple burnout is demonstrated by several clinical examples.…

This article provides highlights from an interview with Dr. Robert Wubbolding, a leading expert in the area of reality therapy. Details concerning how Dr. Wubbolding applies and integrates reality therapy and choice theory in counseling with couples and families will be explored. (GCP)

Investigated whether effectiveness of behavioral marital therapy would be increased by addition of cognitive restructuring and/or emotional expressiveness training for maritally distressed couples. Results from 60 such couples randomly assigned to a variety of treatment combinations revealed that the addition of cognitive restructuring and…

Explores similarities between Kelly's Personal Construct Theory (PCT) and systemic therapies. Asserts that (1) PCT and systemic therapies share common epistemological stance, constructivism; (2) personal construct systems possess properties of open systems; and (3) PCT and systemic therapies hold similar positions on relevant theoretical and…

Investigated relationship between problem-solving self-appraisal, specific coping efforts, and marital distress in 75 couples. Findings showed less problem-solving confidence, tendency to avoid different problem-solving activities, and poor strategies to control behavior in distressed spouses. Three coping efforts--optimistic comparisons,…