Empirically Supported Marital and Couples Therapies
The following treatments have been shown to be effective through decades of research. Although the Gottman Method is considered the gold standard, each of these therapies has unique elements that couples may prefer or that may be a better fit for certain relationship problems.
The Gottman Method
What is the Gottman Method?
Gottman Method Couples Therapy (GMCT) was developed by Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman. It is a widely used couples therapy approach grounded in decades of research with thousands of couples. The Gottman Method helps couples develop the skills that are known to cause relationships to flourish and let go of habits that are known to predict divorce. The Gottman Method is widely considered to be the gold standard for evidence-based couples therapy.
How does the Gottman Method work?
The goals of GMCT are to improve verbal communication skills; increase intimacy, respect, and affection; remove barriers that create a feeling of stagnancy; and create a heightened sense of empathy and understanding within the context of the relationship.
Gottman Method therapy begins with a thorough assessment of the couple’s relationship. This includes a conjoint session, individual interviews with each partner, and a set of questionnaires known as the Gottman Relationship Checkup (GRC). The Gottman Method uses the Sound Relationship House theory to interpret the results of the assessment, using nine dimensions of relationship health.
Based on the results of the assessment, the couple and the Gottman therapist decide on the frequency and duration of the sessions. Therapy sessions are designed to help couples strengthen their relationships in three primary areas: friendship, conflict management, and the creation of shared meaning.
Is the Gottman Method effective?
The Gottman Method is considered the gold standard in couples therapy. It has a substantial research base dating back to the 1970s. Outcome studies have shown that the Gottman Method effectively treats a wide variety of relationship issues, including communication problems, conflict resolution, parenting, infidelity, addiction, and domestic violence. It has been shown to improve relationship satisfaction, reduce negative interactions, and prevent problems years after therapy has been completed.
Who can provide Gottman Method therapy?
Gottman Method therapy should only be provided by a licensed mental health professional who has completed formal training in GMCT. There are four levels of training and certification in the Gottman Method. The levels of training are:
• Level 1: This is the first step. Trainees learn the research behind the Gottman Method and are introduced to the theoretical model, assessment process and interventions.
• Level 2: This is generally considered to be the minimum amount of training for a therapist to competently administer Gottman Method interventions. It covers the full range of assessment strategies, intervention techniques, and special methods to treat co-occurring problems such as domestic violence, substance abuse and trauma.
• Level 3: Level 3 trainees examine videos of their therapy sessions (with clients’ written permission), facilitated by a Certified Gottman Trainer, to deepen their understanding of when and how to use various Gottman Method interventions, and how to replace destructive patterns with meaningful interactions.
• Certification Track: Completion of the Gottman Method certification process is the culmination of a years-long process of rigorous study, videotape review and supervision by senior Gottman trainers. A Certified Gottman Therapist (CGT) is a member of an exclusive group of highly trained therapists who have fully mastered the Gottman Method.
Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy
What is Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy?
Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT) is an evidence-based approach that combines elements from behavioral and traditional couples therapy to create a holistic and personalized treatment plan. The primary goal of IBCT is to promote emotional acceptance, enhance communication, and build a secure emotional connection within the relationship. This therapeutic approach integrates both acceptance and change as positive outcomes for couples in therapy. It combines various treatment strategies under a consistent behavioral theoretical framework.
How does Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy work?
IBCT assumes that relationship problems result not only from specific actions or inactions of partners but also from their emotional reactivity to those behaviors. Therefore, IBCT focuses on the emotional context between partners and strives to achieve greater acceptance and intimacy. When partners experience greater acceptance from each other, their resistance to change often dissolves, which in turn allows them to adapt, accommodate, communicate more clearly, and problem-solve effectively, reducing conflict.
Unlike traditional behavioral couples therapy, which teaches couples the “right way” to communicate, IBCT therapists help partners process their own unique communication styles. They let these natural responses shape each other’s behavior, which helps maintain communication gains after the therapy is complete.
IBCT consists of an evaluation and a treatment phase. In the evaluation phase, therapists meet with the couple to discuss their concerns and goals. They provide feedback and their perspective, considering both partners’ stories. The treatment phase involves working on emotional acceptance, communication, and problem-solving.
Is Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy effective?
First developed by Neil Jacobson at the University of Washington in the 1990s, and later by Andrew Christensen at UCLA, IBCT has research support spanning three decades. A host of studies have highlighted the efficacy of IBCT in addressing common relationship issues, and its holistic and personalized approach to treatment planning addresses limitations observed in the less flexible approaches common to traditional behavioral couples therapy.
Who can provide Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy?
Qualifications for providing IBCT can vary as there is no standardized certification program. Providers typically include licensed mental health professionals with expertise in couples and family therapy. Training in IBCT can occur through participation in clinical trials, graduate training with IBCT experts, or specialized workshops. Therapists providing IBCT should have a solid understanding of the approach, its techniques, and its evidence base.
Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
What is Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples?
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) was developed in the 1980s by Canadian psychologist Sue Johnson and Leslie Greenberg. EFT aims to improve relationships by rekindling the physical and emotional bonds that suffer when partners become estranged from one another. It operates on the principle that emotions, rather than reason, are the organizing experiences of human life. It incorporates elements of experiential therapy such as gestalt and person-centered approaches, systemic therapy, and attachment theory.
How does Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples work?
EFT is based on the psychological theory of attachment bonds and centers on emotions and their role in our identity and decision-making. The therapist helps couples identify negative interaction patterns that contribute to conflict and then reframe those conflicts in terms of the feelings driving the pattern. The process helps to reduce conflict and creates a more secure emotional bond as each partner learns to share their emotions and develop acceptance and compassion for the other. This usually results in new communication strategies and interaction patterns marked by more effective conflict strategies.
Is Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples effective?
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is generally considered effective for couples. Research has found that EFT can improve interactions between partners and reduce the amount of stress that people experience in their relationships. A 2019 systematic review found that EFT was an effective treatment for improving marital satisfaction. However, for EFT to become a gold standard treatment more robust outcome studies are needed to examine the effects of EFT beyond stress reduction and marital satisfaction.
Who can provide Emotionally Focused Therapy?
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) can be provided by licensed mental health professionals who have additional training and experience in EFT. EFT Therapists can receive certification by the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT).
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a third-wave behavior therapy developed at the University of Nevada in the 1980s. Originally developed by Steven Hayes as an individual therapy, ACT helps clients accept their emotions and commit to making necessary behavior changes, regardless of their feelings or life circumstances.
As a couples therapy, ACT encourages partners to acknowledge their emotional responses without judgment, stay present and accept them, while using their mutual core values to guide their decisions within the relationship. Couples commit to behaviors that align with their values, fostering growth and positive change in their relationship, enhancing connection, and generating well-being, and understanding between partners.
How does ACT for Couples work?
ACT focuses on fostering emotional acceptance and psychological flexibility. The ACT therapist will encourage couples to accept their thoughts and feelings and commit to actions aligned with their personal values. Mindfulness-based practices are at the core of ACT, enhancing emotional validation and understanding.
ACT helps couples identify core values, use mindfulness techniques during therapy sessions, approach conflict resolution nonjudgmentally, and align individual values within the relationship. The result is shared understanding, empathy, compassion, and a more meaningful life together.
Is ACT for Couples effective?
Although ACT has an extensive research base as an individual treatment, it is a relatively new therapy when applied to couples. Preliminary trials suggest that ACT may be potentially efficacious for couples, but more rigorous research is needed to determine whether integrating acceptance strategies improves outcomes traditional behavioral couple therapies; and further, whether ACT outcomes are comparable to the current empirically supported treatments, such as the Gottman Method, Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy, or Emotion Focused Therapy. For these reasons, ACT may currently be of most use as an adjunctive treatment for individual issues in therapy.
Who can provide ACT for couples?
Qualifications for providing ACT can vary as there is no standardized certification program. Providers typically include licensed mental health professionals with expertise in couples and family therapy. Training in IBCT can occur through participation in clinical trials, graduate training with ACT experts, or specialized workshops. Therapists providing ACT should have a solid understanding of the approach, its techniques, and its evidence base.
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