Does the STIC measurement and feedback system improve multisystemic outcomes in individual, couple and family therapy? A randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: In a randomized clinical trial, we evaluated whether the STIC (Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change) measurement and feedback system (MFS), the first MFS to explicitly integrate the family systems perspective, improved outcomes in individual, couple and family therapy. METHOD: Nine hundred and seventy clients seeking individual, couple or family therapy, entered therapy with 93 therapists at four sites in the Chicago metropolitan area. All therapists were trained with the STIC and participated in both Treatment as Usual (TAU) and TAU with the STIC (STIC). After agreeing to participate, clients were randomly assigned to TAU or STIC. Therapists did not know the condition to which a case was assigned, until just prior to the first session. Therapy was not time-limited or constrained, except for the use of the STIC in the STIC condition. All clients were evaluated on a non-STIC multi-systemic battery of widely used outcome measures pre-and-post therapy. RESULTS: STIC clients improved more than TAU clients regardless of treatment modality or outcome measure. Clinically significant change was also greater for STIC than TAU clients across outcome measures. CONCLUSION: The STIC MFS holds promise for improving outcomes beyond TAU in individual, couple, and family therapy.

Couple therapy in the 2020s: Current status and emerging developments.

This paper provides a critical analysis and synthesis of the current status and emerging developments in contemporary couple therapy. Its narrative centers on the evolution of couple therapy into a prominent intervention modality and coherent body of practice. The review begins with the consideration of the field's strong empirical underpinnings derived from research on couple therapy and basic relational science. Couple therapy comprises the widely accepted method for reducing relationship distress and enhancing relationship quality. Moreover, both as a stand-alone intervention and in conjunction with other treatment formats, couple-based interventions have garnered considerable empirical support for their effectiveness in addressing a broad spectrum of specific relational dysfunctions as well as individual emotional and physical health problems. We highlight the convergence of methods through common factors, shared strategies, and remarkably similar arrangements across approaches. Our review also points to key differences among approaches, the importance of recognizing respective strengths and limitations linked to these differences, and building on differences across models when selecting and tailoring interventions for a given couple. The discussion concludes with a consideration of recent trends in the field including the impact of telehealth and related digital technologies, the expansion of specific treatments for specific problems and diverse populations, the interface of couple therapy with relationship education, and enduring challenges as well as new opportunities addressing broader systemic and global dynamics.

The Challenges of COVID-19 for Divorcing and Post-divorce Families.

COVID-19 and the accompanying procedures of shelter-in-place have had a powerful effect on all families but have additional special meanings in the context of families contemplating divorce, divorcing, or carrying out postdivorce arrangements. This paper explores those special meanings for these families. It also offers suggestions for couple and family therapists involved in helping these families during the time of COVID-19.

La COVID-19 y las normas de confinamiento que conlleva han tenido un efecto profundo en todas las familias, pero adquieren otros significados especiales en el contexto de las familias que están contemplando el divorcio, que se están divorciando o que están haciendo acuerdos posteriores al divorcio. Este artículo analiza esos significados especiales para estas familias. También ofrece sugerencias para los terapeutas de pareja y de familia implicados en ayudar a estas familias durante los tiempos de la COVID-19.

Current Issues in the Practice of Integrative Couple and Family Therapy.

This paper provides an overview of current issues in integration in couple and family therapy. It summarizes the evolution of integration in couple and family therapy, the various traditions in integration, the strengths of integrative approach, and the possible pitfalls involved. It highlights the extent to which most couple and family therapy is now integrative practice. It concludes with a consideration of an emerging trend toward methods of practice centered on modules of intervention that have been identified as effective with certain presenting phenomena. The example of therapy for high conflict divorce is utilized to illustrate how various components can be brought together to create a maximally effective intervention.

Este artículo ofrece un panorama de temas actuales en la integración en la terapia de pareja y familias. Resume la evolución de la integración en la terapia de pareja y familias, las diversas tradiciones en integración, los puntos fuertes del enfoque integrador, y las posibles trabas que conlleva. Resalta hasta qué punto la mayor parte de la terapia de pareja y familias se ha convertido en práctica integradora. Concluye con una consideración de una tendencia emergente hacia métodos de práctica centrados en módulos de intervención cuya efectividad con ciertos fenómenos que se presentan se ha identificado. Se emplea el ejemplo de la terapia para divorcio de alto conflicto para ilustrar cómo pueden reunirse varios elementos para crear una integración de máxima eficacia.