Relationship Issues

Utilizing CBT for Relationship Issues

By the time they consider therapy, many couples have considered the option of divorce. Therapy can help to answer questions of whether or not the relationship can provide what each spouse needs for a satisfying marriage. Although there are a number of treatment programs for unhappily married couples, the most widely researched form of treatment for marital distress is cognitive behavioral marital therapy. There are several general goals of this approach to marital therapy.

Marital Goals: 

1. Spouses are taught how to identify and increase the number of caring behaviors they do for one another.

2. Spouses are taught specific communication skills in order to improve the quality of their communication. Improving communication often produces greater emotional closeness and intimacy in the marriage.

3. Spouses are taught problem-solving skills so that they can successfully resolve problems in their relationship without getting into destructive arguments.

4. Spouses are taught how to improve the quality of their sexual relationship through sexual enhancement, as well as how to identify and modify unrealistic beliefs that may be contributing to their unhappiness.

Many studies have been conducted in the United States to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral marital therapy. Results have shown that about 65% to 75% of the couples treated with this method improve substantially at the end of treatment and maintain these gains following treatment. As with all forms of therapy, however, spouses must be committed to improving the quality of their relationship and be willing to make changes in themselves for therapy to be effective.