Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Polarization in Couple and Family Therapy

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy

Synonyms

Distressed couples; Impasse; Mixed-agenda couples; Vulnerability cycle

Introduction

Polarization has been sporadically noted in literature. Crosby’s (1989) edited work was foundational in considering the unique treatment needs of polarized couples. Jacobson and Christenson (1998) conceptualized the polarization process in their Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT) as a destructive way a couple handles conflicts of difference in their relationship. Baucom and Atkins (2013) defined the polarization process as a behavioral affective, and cognitive cycle in which unsuccessful attempts to quell relationship distress and to enhance intimacy backfire and result in spouses engaging in more extreme forms of behaviors over time and feeling increasingly hopeless, separate, and deeply dissatisfied (p. 150).

Adjectives used to describe the concept of polarization include devitalized, ambivalent, impasse, distressed, and mixed-agenda, etc.

Theoretical Context for Concept

The...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Baucom, J. R., & Atkins, D. C. (2013). Understanding marital distress: Polarization process. In M. A. Fine & F. D. Fincham (Eds.), Handbook of family theories: A content-based approach (pp. 145–166). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosby, J. F. (1989). When one wants out and the other doesn’t: Doing therapy with polarized couples. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, M. S., & Christensen, A. (1998). Acceptance and change in couple therapy: A therapist’s guide to transforming relationships. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papp, P., Scheinkman, M., & Malpas, J. (2013). Breaking the mold: Sculpting impasses in couples’ therapy. Family Process, 52, 33–45.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Relational Wellness Institute, Las Vegas, NV, USA

    Marj Castronova

Authors
  1. Marj Castronova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marj Castronova .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Jay Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Anthony Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Eli Karam Ph.D., LMFT

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Castronova, M. (2018). Polarization in Couple and Family Therapy. 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_298-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_298-1

  • 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

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation