Integration of Methodology, Theory, and Therapy

Abstract

The task of this chapter is twofold. First, the chapter attempts to provide a methodological anchor for the volume by articulating some of the myriad ways in which reseachers approach the study of close relationships, particularly relationship loss. Some of the methods discussed in the chapter are presented in the topical research discussions in other chapters in the volume (e.g., Chapters 4, 8, 9, and 10). However, other approaches may not appear elsewhere in the book. Thus, the chapter overlaps only modestly with other contributions. The second purpose of this chapter is to acknowledge the utility—even the necessity—of letting methodology, theory, and therapy function in a gestalt, with ongoing feedback loops between. Just as in Chapter 1, where Duck describes relationship loss as a “process” rather than as an “event,” so also is the integration of method, theory, and therapy an ongoing process rather than an arbitrary melding conducted at one point in time.