Cognitive-Behavioral Marital Therapy

Abstract

Cognitive-behavioral therapies were developed primarily as approaches to understanding and treating problems of individuals, such as depression (Beck, 1976; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979), impulsive behavior (Meichenbaum, 1977; Watkins, 1977), anxiety (Beck, Emery, & Greenberg, 1985), anger (Novaco, 1975), and unassertiveness (Lange & Jakubowski, 1976). However, cognitive-behavioral principles and procedures increasingly have been extended to the treatment of problems in intimate interpersonal relationships, with a focus on modifying repetitive dysfunctional patterns of marital and family interactions.