Working with Couples in Primary Care

Abstract

Couples, whether traditional or nontraditional, are the backbone of family life. They are the unit that produces, nurtures, and raises the next generation. They are connected both to the past through their parents and to the future through their children. They are sometimes the patients and often the customers for the health care of their families. While physicians occasionally see couples for primary care, marital, or relationship counseling, issues having to do with couples more generally permeate the delivery of primary care.