This book is welcomed to the series as a truly unique contribution to the literature on marital therapy. It is written for the empirically oriented psychotherapist, regardless of his or her discipline, who encounters patients with marital discord and has been distressed by the absence of an acceptable conceptual model for treatment. Psychoanalysis, behavior therapy, general system theory, and social learning theory have all made important contributions to treatment. But all too often these approaches have focused either on individual psychopathology or on the formal elements of marital interaction. This volume is the first to propose an approach to marital therapy which is clinically sophisticated, empirically based and which integrates important elements of seemingly disparate theoretical systems. The result is a cognitive-behavioral model for the treatment of marital discord which borrows from both psychoanalytic and behavioral contributions by translating them into the language of cognitive social psychology. The author documents the toll in human suffering as well as the ubiquitous nature of marriage-related problems. Despite the frequency with which marital dissatisfaction and discord are encountered in clinical practice, an amazingly high percentage of mental health professionals have received inadequate training in either the theory or technique of effective clinical intervention. The absence of a conceptual framework linking individual psychopathology to interactional difficulties has wors ened the problem for clinicians interested in conjoint treatment.

Inhalt
1 Current Status of Marital Therapy.- Psychoanalytic Treatment of Marital Discord.- Behavioral Treatment of Marital Discord.- Beginning Rapprochement.- An Integrated Approach.- Clinical Ramifications.- Overview.- References.- 2 The Relationship of Marriage to Psychological Well-being.- Marital Status and Mental Health Service Usage.- Marital Status and Psychiatric Hospitalization.- Marital Status and Outpatient Clinic Usage.- Psychological Well-being and Marital Status.- Marital Status and Alcoholism.- Suicide and Marital Status.- Marital Status and Mortality.- Marital Discord, Psychiatric Impairment, and Mental Health Service Usage.- Divorce, Marital Discord, and Children.- Sex and Marital Status Differences in Psychopathology.- Explanatory Hypotheses.- Trends in Divorce Rates.- Response of Mental Health Professionals.- References.- 3 Psychoanalytic Theory and Marriage.- Classical Psychoanalytic Theory and Practice.- Retranslation.- Minor Modifications of Orthodox Analytic Treatment.- Psychoanalytically Oriented Conjoint Marital Therapy.- Object-Relations Theory.- Object-Relations Marital Therapy.- Comment and Critique.- References.- 4 General System Theory and Marriage.- General System Theory.- Cybernetics.- Don Jackson.- Jay Haley.- Virginia Satir and Marital Therapy.- Comment and Critique.- References.- 5 Behavioral Marital Therapy.- Behaviorism and Behavior Therapy.- Behavior Therapy.- Basic Concepts in Behaviorial Marital Therapy.- Treatment.- Positive Reinforcement Exchange Procedures.- Communication.- Comment and Critique.- References.- 6 Inner Worlds, External Reality, and Interactional Systems.- Current Status.- Requirement of a Theory.- Behavioral Change and Inner Representational Events.- Inner Representational Events and Social Behavior.- Description of Inner Representational Events.- Psychoanalytic Concepts and Cognitive Theory.- How Schemas are Self-sustaining.- Summary.- References.- 7 An Integrative Model.- Basic Assumptions.- Interpersonal Consistency.- Person-Environment Interaction.- Behavior as a Function of Perceived Environment.- Nature of Cognitive Events.- Psychotherapy as a Social Influence.- Choice of Therapeutic Intervention.- An Integrative Model.- Definition.- Cognitive Factors in Marital Discord.- The Clinical Context.- Hypothesis One.- Hypothesis Two.- Hypothesis Three.- Hypothesis Four.- Relationship of Cognitions to Interpersonal Behavior.- Hypothesis Five.- Hypothesis Six.- Properties of Interactional Systems.- Hypothesis Seven.- Hypothesis Eight.- Mechanism of Change.- Hypothesis Nine.- Hypothesis Ten.- Conclusions.- References.- 8 Clinical Application.- Conceptual Overview.- Indications.- Length of Therapy.- Technical Considerations.- Goal of Therapy.- Stages of Therapy.- Early Phase (Entrance into Therapy).- Middle Stages.- Comment.- End Stage.- Comment.- Clinical Wisdom.- Comments.- Differing Needs of Researchers and Clinicians.- References.- 9 Case Illustration.- Brief History of the Relationship.- Brief Personality Sketch of Mrs. P.- Mr. P.- Entrance into Therapy.- Course of Therapy.- First Session.- Negotiation Training.- Modifying Specific Interactional Problems.- Specific Communication Problems.- Further Modification of Interaction.- Cognitive Restructuring.- A Return to the Past.- Discrimination Training.