Name of Concept
Goals of couple and family therapy
Introduction
Couples and families choose to attend therapy for a host of reasons ranging from domestic violence to partner infidelity to oppositional defiance of a child. Most who come to therapy decide to seek out professional help with the goal of improving current family functioning. Many see therapy as a resource that will provide them with relationship skills that will better their situation. Others see therapy as an outlet for venting or sharing their emotional burdens, a place where they can feel heard and have their emotions validated. Still others see therapy as a last resort, realizing that this option may be the final chance to salvage a damaged relationship.
Research has consistently highlighted the importance of forming and maintaining a strong therapeutic alliance to promote effective treatment outcomes in couple and family therapy (CFT; Sprenkle et al. 2009). Many factors, such as cultural differences, professional...
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Jensen, J., Brown, B. (2019). Goals in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_533
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_533
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