Name of Theory
Communication in Couples and Families
Synonyms
Introduction
Communication is the process of sharing information. It goes beyond the content of the information being shared to encompass the way the information is being shared between people. Communication also reveals information about how people connect and the relationships between people. The process of communicating includes thinking, expressing, listening, interpreting, understanding, and responding (Koerner and Fitzpatrick 2002). Almost everything is a form of communication, including spoken words, sounds, body posture, text, and even silence. Even not speaking is a form of communicating, as it can also hold meaning and value and conveys information in itself (Watzlawick et al. 1967). For example, a teenage daughter falls silent and casts her eyes down towards the floor while her parents are fighting. This act of silence might convey some important information about family dynamics and how the...
References
Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind. New York: Jason Aronson.
Epstein, N. B., Bishop, D. S., & Baldwin, L. M. (1982). McMaster model of family functioning. In F. Walsh (Ed.), Normal family processes (pp. 115–141). New York: Guilford Press.
Freedman, J., & Combs, G. (1996). Narrative therapy: The social construction of preferred realities. New York: Norton.
Galvin, K. M., Braithwaite, D. O., & Bylund, C. L. (2016). Family communication: Cohesion and change (9th ed.). New York: Routledge.
Goldberg, R. M. (2017). Communication errors/problems in couples and families. In J. Carlson & S. B. Dermer (Eds.), The SAGE encyclopedia of marriage, family, and couples counseling (pp. 300–302). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Gordon, T. (2000). Parent effectiveness training: The proven program for raising responsible children.
Gottman, J. M. (1994). What predicts divorce? Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hayley, J., & Richeport-Haley, M. (2003). The art of strategic therapy. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Johnson, S. M. (2004). The practice of emotionally focused couple therapy: Creating connection. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Koerner, A. F., & Fitzpatrick, M. A. (2002). Toward a theory of communication. Communication Theory, 12(1), 70–91. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/12.1.70.
Lavner, J. A., Karney, B. R., & Bradbury, T. N. (2016). Does couples’ communication predict marital satisfaction, or does marital satisfaction predict communication? Journal of Marriage and Family, 78(3), 680–694. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12301.
McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages: The communication skills book. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications.
Satir, V. (1972). Peoplemaking. Palo Alto: Science and Behavior Books.
Watzlawick, P., Beavin Bavelas, J., & Jackson, D. D. (1967). Pragmatics of human communication: A study of interactional patterns, pathologies, and paradoxes. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
White, M. (2007). Maps of narrative practice. New York: Norton.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bokoch, R. (2019). Communication in Couples and Families. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_1143-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_1143-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences