FAMILY THERAPY - DEAN AMORY

History of Marital Therapy
Guman &Fränkel point out that couples therapy (formerly marital therapy) has been largely neglected, even
though family therapists do 1.5-2 times as much couple work as multigenerational family work. They also note
this is not such a bad ratio, as 40% of people coming to therapy attribute their problems to relationship issues.
(Gurman, A. S. & Fraenkel, P. (2002). The history of couple therapy: A millennial review. Family Process, 41,
199-260.)
G&F define Four Phases in the History of Couples Therapy:
Phase I - 1930 to 1963 - Atheoretical
1929 to 1932 - Three marital clinics opened; they were service and education oriented, and saw mostly
individuals
The closest thing to theory was what was borrowed from psychoanalytic - interlocking neurosis
1931 the first marital therapy paper was published
Theory was marginalized due to a lack of brilliant theorists, and a lack of distinction from individual
analysis
Phase II - 1931 to 1966 - Psychoanalytic Experimentation
Therapists are seen as telling truth from distortion, rather than creating a truth
Mostly individual sessions, but some conjoint; still treated like seeing two individual clients in the same
room though
Some started to downplay the role of the therapist
Family was outshining couples work, and the couple techniques weren't innovative or particularly
effective
Phase III - 1963 to 1985 - Family Therapy Incorporates
Family therapy overpowers couples, even though a number of big name people really mostly saw
couples
o Jackson
Coined concepts like quid pro quo, homeostasis, and double bind for conjoint therapy
o Satir
Coined naming roles members played, fostered self-esteem and actualization, and saw the
therapist as a nurturing teacher
o Bowen
Multigenerational theory approach, with differentiation, triangulation, and projection processes,
with the therapist as an anxiety-lowering coach - societal projection process was the forerunner
of our modern awareness of cultural differences.
o Haley
Power and control (or love and connection) were key. Avoided insight, emotional catharsis,
conscious power plays. Saw system as more, and more important, than the sum of the parts
Phase IV - 1986 to now - Refining and Integrating
1986 was the publication of G&K book
New Theories were tried and refined, like Behavioural Marital Therapy, Emotionally Focused Marital
Therapy, and Insight-Oriented Marital Therapy. All four have received good empirical support. Couples
therapy was used to treat depression, anxiety, and alcoholism.
Efforts were focused on preventing couples problems with programs like PREP
Feminism, Multiculturalism, and Post-Modernism impacted the field
Eclectic integration, brief therapy, and sex therapy ideas were incorporated into our work.
http://www.psychpage.com/family/library/history_of_couples_therapy.html
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