RESUMEN
Couple relationship education (CRE) has decades of research showing mixed results for participants. Various competing frameworks for CRE content have emerged in the development of the field, yet content has not been systematically investigated. Through an inductive content analysis of 15 different CRE programs, this study explored content themes and categories that are common across programs. Analysis found four themes throughout the programs: interactional skills, the self in the relationship, partner bonding, and relationship motivations. Categories for each theme were identified and are presented and discussed. Findings validate the primacy of teaching interactional skills within CRE including consistency in topics (e.g., communication training, conflict management). Other themes were also common (e.g., self in the relationship), though their categories were more diverse (e.g., self-care, expectations, personality). Several factors that have emerged as more significant in relationship theory and research were not well-represented in the content analysis (e.g., socioecological contexts, systemic patterns).
RESUMEN
The field of couple, marital, and family therapy (CMFT) is at an important juncture of identity development and synthesis. Integrative Systemic Therapy (IST) is a problem-centered metaframeworks approach that meets the growing needs of family therapists working with diverse and complex family systems and restores the field to its original focus on collaboration. This paper describes the process by which IST developed featuring anecdotes from live interviews with the founders. We briefly outline IST's theoretical pillars and the essential way IST practitioners deliver treatment including a blueprint for therapy. Finally, we propose that IST is a comprehensive, systemic guide uniquely beneficial to CMFT training and discuss our approach to integrating IST into our training of students in a COAMFTE accredited program.