Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) is one of few empirically supported treatments for relationship distress. While evidence-based approaches are critical for ensuring safe and effective treatment, EFT has not been adapted for use with same-sex/same-gender (SS/SG) relationships. This study used the Delphi method to generate consensus on treatment guidelines for using EFT with SS/SG relationships.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmotionally focused therapy (EFT) is an evidence-based treatment for relational distress based on experiential, humanistic, and attachment theories. Despite the empirical support for EFT, there are no studies on EFT delivered via teletherapy. In this study, we aimed to understand therapists' experiences delivering EFT through teletherapy using open-ended questions on a web-based survey of certified EFT therapists (n = 69).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis pilot study examined predictors of change in relationship distress and depressive symptoms over the course of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) in a one-arm, pragmatic clinical trial of 17 couples in Taiwan. Results revealed that masculine ideology, feminine ideology, traditionalism, and emotional expressivity at intake predicted change in relationship distress. Specifically, women's high traditional gender roles and traditionalism and both partners' high emotional expressivity at intake were associated with decreases in relationship distress over time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFam Process
September 2024
Background: Data from a two-arm randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused therapy (EFT) compared to usual care were used to examine whether baseline emotion regulation influences relationship satisfaction for female and male partners. This is clinically relevant as clinicians have debated whether clients' initial emotion regulation skills predict positive outcomes in EFT.
Methods: Dyadic multilevel modeling was used to determine whether baseline emotion regulation predicted both initial levels and change in relationship satisfaction and whether that relationship differed by treatment group (i.
This is the first study to explore the effectiveness of emotionally focused couple therapy (EFT) for depressive symptoms and relationship distress among couples in Taiwan. This one-arm pragmatic trial assessed the clinical outcomes of 17 couples using multilevel modeling to investigate changes in depressive symptoms and relationship distress throughout treatment. Over half of the participants were moderately depressed and moderately distressed at baseline.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe relationship between therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes is one of the most widely studied topics in psychotherapy research. Research has primarily considered a unidirectional model whereby alliance predicts outcomes, which implies that building alliance early in therapy results in later symptom improvement and ignores the possibility that early symptom improvement could also subsequently lead to improved alliance. This study explored the bidirectional associations of alliance and outcomes session-to-session for 15 sessions among a sample of 24 couples randomized to emotionally focused therapy or treatment as usual for depression and relationship dissatisfaction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe formation and development of the therapeutic alliance in couple therapy is a complex process and a key contributor to positive treatment outcomes. This study explored differences in trajectories of therapeutic alliance by sex and treatment condition among 24 couples randomized to receive Emotionally Focused Therapy or treatment as usual. The results identified a curvilinear growth pattern for alliance across both treatment groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncluding diverse participants in couple intervention studies is critical for developing an evidence base that informs best practices for all potential clients. Research has shown that subgroups of clients respond differently to different interventions and that interventions that have been adapted to fit the needs of a given population are more effective than non-adapted interventions. Unfortunately, couple intervention samples often exclude participants with marginalized identities and culturally adapted couple intervention research is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDepressive disorders are the leading contributor to medical disability, yet only 22% of depressed patients receive adequate treatment in a given year. Response to treatment varies widely among individuals with depression, and poor response to one treatment does not signal poor response to others. In fact, half of patients who do not recover from a first-line psychotherapy will recover from a second option.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmotionally focused therapy (EFT) is an empirically supported intervention for relationship distress with an established model of supervision. This study examined whether incorporating video feedback (VF) software into EFT supervision would improve therapists' level of development compared to traditional EFT supervision in a university training clinic. A concurrent multiple-baseline across subjects design, along with a thematic analysis of qualitative data, were used in this proof-of-concept study of the new supervision component.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis is the fourth Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (JMFT) special issue on the efficacy and effectiveness of couple and family therapy. Articles in this issue review studies published from 2010 to 2019 on couple and family interventions for prevalent mental and behavioral disorders and health conditions. The final article on mental health disparities tracks progress in the field and emphasizes the need for additional attention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article systematically reviews the evidence base for couple and family interventions for depressive and bipolar disorders published from 2010 to 2019. Included in the review were intervention studies on depression for couples (n = 6), depression for families (n = 13), and bipolar for families (n = 5); zero studies on couple interventions for bipolar were located. Well-established interventions include cognitive and/or behavioral couple and family interventions for depression and psychoeducational family interventions for bipolar.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfidelity is associated with negative effects on couples' relationships, yet some couples are able to overcome these and rebuild their relationship. Few studies have examined this process for couples who stay together after an affair. With a sample of 18 individuals (nine couples), this study explored similarities and differences between injured (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFam Process
June 2021
Disparities in mental health care among marginalized populations have been well-documented. Without research designed to study interventions for diverse populations, disparities in the quality of services will persist. A systematic review of articles evaluating couple and family therapy (CFT) interventions was conducted to evaluate the representation of diverse populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS) is a 12-item measure of functional social support (SS); however, the psychometric properties of the MSPSS have not been evaluated in prisoners. We used measures of known-groups validity, convergent and discriminant validity, internal consistency reliability and factor structure to assess the suitability of the MSPSS for measuring SS among 184 individuals in prison in the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) is an effective approach to working with distressed couples. It is not only effective in reducing relationship distress, but also in successfully maintaining gains over time. In the current study, we sought to understand the therapy processes that result in the creation of safety during stage one of EFT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Depression is the leading cause of diseases globally and is often characterized by a lack of social connection. With the rise of social media, it is seen that Twitter users are seeking Web-based connections for depression.
Objective: This study aimed to identify communities where Twitter users tweeted using the hashtag #MyDepressionLooksLike to connect about depression.
The systemic interactions among depressive symptoms, rumination, and stress are important to understanding depression but have not yet been quantified. In this article, we present a system dynamics simulation model of depression that captures the reciprocal relationships among stressors, rumination, and depression. Building on the response styles theory, this model formalizes three interdependent mechanisms: 1) Rumination contributes to 'keeping stressors alive'; 2) Rumination has a direct impact on depressive symptoms; and 3) Both 'stressors kept alive' and current depressive symptoms contribute to rumination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for depression and relationship satisfaction versus usual care (i.e., couple therapy other than EFT), and explored mechanisms of change.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is a critical need for high-quality and accessible treatments to improve mental health. Yet, there are indications that the research being conducted by contemporary marriage and family therapy (MFT) scholars focuses less on advancing and disseminating clinical interventions than in previous decades. In this article, we describe challenges to increasing rigorous clinical research in MFT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Social media provides a context for billions of users to connect, express sentiments, and provide in-the-moment status updates. Because Twitter users tend to tweet emotional updates from daily life, the platform provides unique insights into experiences of mental health problems. Depression is not only one of the most prevalent health conditions but also carries a social stigma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA critical juncture in translation research involves the preliminary studies of intervention tools, provider training programs, policies, and other mechanisms used to leverage knowledge garnered at one translation stage into another stage. Potentially useful for such studies are rigorous techniques for conducting within-subject clinical trials, which have advanced incrementally over the last decade. However, these methods have largely not been utilized within prevention or translation contexts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultiple models of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have been developed to characterize the oscillations seen in the hormone concentrations and to examine HPA axis dysfunction. We reviewed the existing models, then replicated and compared five of them by finding their correspondence to a dataset consisting of ACTH and cortisol concentrations of 17 healthy individuals. We found that existing models use different feedback mechanisms, vary in the level of details and complexities, and offer inconsistent conclusions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Marital Fam Ther
January 2013
With training that emphasizes relationship systems, marriage and family therapists are uniquely attuned to interpersonal dynamics, interdependence, and the influence of relationships on individuals' perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. While recent statistical advances have contributed to a proliferation of resources designed to introduce researchers to dyadic data analysis, guidelines related to the methodological aspects of dyadic research design have received less attention. Given the potential advantages of dyadic designs for examining couple and family relational and therapeutic processes, the purpose of this article is to introduce marriage and family therapy researchers to dyadic research methodology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClinicians' own internal resources for understanding relationships--that is, their attachment organizations--have been found to influence the process and outcome of treatment. The current study addressed whether the attachment organizations of novice couple and family therapists were associated with couples' experiences of their therapists, therapeutic alliance, session impact, and emotionally focused couple therapy (EFT) fidelity (i.e.
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