THE EFFECT OF INTEGRATIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY VERSUS EMOTION-FOCUSED THERAPY FOR COUPLES: A META-ANALYSIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbpsyped.2019.1.02Keywords:
Marriage, couple therapy, attachment, communication, well-beingAbstract
The negative effects of a dysfunctional couple’s relationship influence the partners to look for a form of therapy that can help them improve their relationship. The present paper integrates the research data for two of the most studied couple therapies: Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy and Emotion-Focused Therapy. The study compares the two therapies and integrates in a meta-analysis the outcomes of 15 studies (N=373 couples). Results show a high effect for both forms of therapy, with no significant differences between them. The moderating role of the type of outcome, the couples’ characteristics, and the sample’s demographic characteristics, were explored, the results proving that the investigated couple therapies have the same strong effect, irrespective of all those factors.References
Christensen, A., Atkins, D., Berns, S., Wheeler, J., Baucom, D.H., & Simpson, L. (2004). Traditional versus integrative behavioral couple therapy for significantly and stably distressed married couples. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 176-191.
Cloutier, P.F., Manion, I.G., Walker, J.G., & Johnson, S.M. (2002). Emotionally focused interventions for couples with chronically ill children: A 2‐year follow‐up. Journal of marital and family therapy, 28(4), 391-398.
Cordova, J.V., Jacobson, N.S., & Christensen, A. (1998). Acceptance versus change interventions in behavioral couple therapy: impact on couples' in-session communication. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 24(4), 437-55.
Dakin, J., & Wampler, R. (2008). Money doesn't buy happiness, but it helps: Marital satisfaction, psychological distress, and demographic differences between low- and middle-income clinic couples. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 36(4), 300-311.
Dalgleish, T.L., Johnson, S.M., Burgess, Moser. M., Lafontaine, M.F., Wiebe, S.A., & Tasca GA. (2015). Predicting change in marital satisfaction throughout Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 41(3), 276-91.
Dalton, E.J., Greenman, P.S., Classen, C.C., & Johnson, S.M. (2013). Nurturing connections in the aftermath of childhood trauma: A randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused couple therapy for female survivors of childhood abuse. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 2(3), 209-221.
Dalton, E., Greenman, P.S., Classen, C.C., & Johnson, S.M. (2012). A randomized controlled trial of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) for female survivors of childhood abuse. Conference: 73rd Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association At: Halifax, Canada.
Dandeneau, M., & Johnson, S.M. (1994). Facilitating intimacy: Interventions and effects. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 28, 17-33.
Denton, W.H., Wittenborn, A.K., & Golden, R.N. (2012). Augmenting antidepressant medication treatment of depressed women with emotionally focused therapy for couples: A randomized pilot study. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38(s1), 23-38.
Glenn, N.D., & Weaver, C.N. (1981). The contribution of marital happiness to global happiness. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 43(2), 161-168.
Goodwin, J.S., Hunt, W.C., Key, C.R., & Samet, J.M. (1987). The effect of marital status on stage, treatment, and survival of cancer patients. Journal of the American Medical Association, 34, 20-26.
Goodwin, S. (1997). The marital relationship and health in women with chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome: Views of wives and husbands. Nursing Research, 46, 138-146.
Gordon, H.S., & Rosenthal, G.E. (1995). Impact of marital status on outcomes in hospitalized patients. Archives of Internal Medicine, 155, 2465-2471.
Gottman, J.M., & Notarius, C.I. (2002). Marital research in the 20th century and a research agenda for the 21st century. Family Process, 41(2), 159-197.
Greenberg, L.S. (2010). Emotion-Focused Therapy: A Clinical Synthesis. The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry, 8(1), 32-42.
Greenman, P.S., & Johnson, S.M. (2012). United we stand: Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples in the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 68, 1–9.
Harway, M. (2005). Handbook of couples therapy. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Jacobson, N.S., Christensen, A., Prince, S.E., Cordova, J., & Eldridge, K. (2000). Integrative behavioral couple therapy: an acceptance-based, promising new treatment for couple discord. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(2), 351-5.
James, P. (1991) Effects of a Communication Training Component Added to an Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 17, 263-276.
Johnson, S. (2002). Marital problems. In D. Sprenkle (Ed.), Effectiveness research in marriage and family therapy. Alexandria, VA: American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.
Johnson, S.M., Burgess Moser, M., Beckes, L., Smith, A., Dalgleish, T., Halchuk, R., Hasselmo, K., Greenman, P.S., Merali, Z. &Coan, J.A. (2013). Soothing the threatened brain: Leveraging contact comfort with Emotionally Focused Therapy. PLOS ONE, 8(11), e79314.
Johnson, S.M., Hunsley, J., Greenberg, L., & Schindler, D. (1999). Emotionally focused couples therapy: Status and challenges. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 6(1), 67-79.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., & Newton, T.L. (2001). Marriage and health: His and hers. Psychological Bulletin, 127(4), 472-503.
MacPhee, D.C., Johnson, S.M., & Van der Veer, M.C. (1995). Low sexual desire in women: The effects of marital therapy. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 21, 159-182.
McLean, L.M., Walton, T., Rodin, G., Esplen, M.J., & Jones, J.M. (2011). A couple-based intervention for patients and caregivers facing end-stage cancer: outcomes of a randomized controlled trial. Psychooncology, 22(1), 28-38.
Randall, A.K., & Bodenmann, G. (2009). The role of stress on close relationships and marital satisfaction. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(2), 105-115.
Shadish, W.R., & Baldwin, S.A. (2003). Meta-analysis of MFT interventions. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 29(4), 547-570.
Shadish, W.R., & Baldwin, S.A. (2005). Effects of behavioral marital therapy: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(1), 6-14.
Snyder, D.K., Castellani, A.M., & Whisman, M.A. (2016). Current status and future directions in couple therapy. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 317-344.
Trapp, M.D.C. (1997). The interaction of cognitive-behavioral therapy with integrated couple therapy for the treatment of depression in women (Doctoral dissertation).
Umberson, D. (1992). Gender, marital status and the social control of health behavior. Social Science and Medicine, 24, 907-917.
Walker, J.G., Johnson, S., Manion, I., Cloutier, P. (1996). Emotionally focused marital intervention for couples with chronically ill children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64(5), 1029-36.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Psychologia-Paedagogia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
