- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- 6.2.1 General principles of drug therapy in psychiatry
- 6.2.2 Anxiolytics and hypnotics
- 6.2.3 Antidepressants
- 6.2.4 Lithium and related mood stabilizers
- 6.2.5 Antipsychotic and anticholinergic drugs
- 6.2.6 Antiepileptic drugs
- 6.2.7 Drugs for cognitive disorders
- 6.2.8 Drugs used in the treatment of the addictions
- 6.2.9 Complementary medicines
- 6.2.10 Non-pharmacological somatic treatments
- 6.3 Psychological treatments
- 6.3.1 Counselling
- 6.3.2 Cognitive behaviour therapy
- 6.3.3 Interpersonal psychotherapy for depression and other disorders
- 6.3.4 Brief individual psychodynamic psychotherapy
- 6.3.5 Psychoanalysis and other long-term dynamic psychotherapies
- 6.3.6 Group methods in adult psychiatry
- 6.3.7 Psychotherapy with couples
- 6.3.8 Family therapy in the adult psychiatric setting
- 6.3.9 Therapeutic communities
- 6.4 Treatment by other professions
- 6.5 Indigenous, folk healing practices
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Psychotherapy with couples
- Chapter:
- Psychotherapy with couples
- Author(s):
Michael Crowe
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199696758.003.0173
The field of couple therapy is a wide and varied one, and there are almost as many different approaches to treatment as in individual psychotherapy. The relatively brief therapeutic method presented here, behavioural systems couple therapy, is an eclectic one, taking techniques from two approaches of proven efficacy and combining them into a flexible and versatile therapy capable of being used in a wide variety of presenting problems. These include simple relationship problems, psychosexual problems, and such psychiatric conditions as anxiety, depression, and morbid jealousy. It is relatively easy to teach, and although it has not yet been subjected to controlled trials it can be assumed to be no less effective than its component therapies which are both effective. It has recently also been recommended in a package for self-help with homework exercises and theoretical explanations to be used without the intervention of a therapist. There are few contraindications for the therapy, and it can be used both as a therapy in its own right or as an adjunctive therapy in, for example, the treatment of depression, psychosis or sexual dysfunctions. It can thus be a useful addition to the various methods available for the reduction of distress, whether in couples or individuals.
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- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- 6.2.1 General principles of drug therapy in psychiatry
- 6.2.2 Anxiolytics and hypnotics
- 6.2.3 Antidepressants
- 6.2.4 Lithium and related mood stabilizers
- 6.2.5 Antipsychotic and anticholinergic drugs
- 6.2.6 Antiepileptic drugs
- 6.2.7 Drugs for cognitive disorders
- 6.2.8 Drugs used in the treatment of the addictions
- 6.2.9 Complementary medicines
- 6.2.10 Non-pharmacological somatic treatments
- 6.3 Psychological treatments
- 6.3.1 Counselling
- 6.3.2 Cognitive behaviour therapy
- 6.3.3 Interpersonal psychotherapy for depression and other disorders
- 6.3.4 Brief individual psychodynamic psychotherapy
- 6.3.5 Psychoanalysis and other long-term dynamic psychotherapies
- 6.3.6 Group methods in adult psychiatry
- 6.3.7 Psychotherapy with couples
- 6.3.8 Family therapy in the adult psychiatric setting
- 6.3.9 Therapeutic communities
- 6.4 Treatment by other professions
- 6.5 Indigenous, folk healing practices
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry