Relational Ethics Among Couples In Therapy

Abstract: Relational ethics is one of the four dimensions in the contextual approach to therapy. Though its concepts have been widely endorsed (Goldenthal, 1996), very little research exists on its influence on relationship variables. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of relational ethics on relationship satisfaction among couples in therapy. A time-series design was adopted and data were collected at intake and end of each session until session six. A total of 39 heterosexual couples from The Ohio State University s Couple and Family Therapy clinic were included in the sample. At the end of six sessions, a total of eleven couples remained. Results showed a positive correlation between relational ethics and relationship satisfaction at baseline for both male and female partners. Multilevel Linear Modeling (MLM) using HLM6 showed significant variance in relationship satisfaction at baseline and over time within and between couples. At baseline, female partner s perception of unfairness in both horizontal and vertical relationships, and male partner s perception of unfairness in horizontal relationship emerged as significant predictors of lower relationship satisfaction among couples and between partners. Significant variance was also noted in relationship satisfaction over time between and within couples. While the baseline predictors also explained variance between couples, there was a difference in the predictors of within-couple variance. Here female partner s perception of unfairness was indicative of lower relationship satisfaction in both partners, and perception of unfairness among male partners was indicative of higher relationship satisfaction levels among female partners across time points. Longer duration of relationship emerged as a predictor of lower relationship satisfaction among couples at baseline and a slower rate of change in satisfaction levels over time. While more research is needed to provide a more comprehensive picture of the complex nature of these relationships, results provide empirical evidence for addressing relational ethics in couples therapy.

Ethics and Professional Issues in Couple and Family Therapy, Second Edition builds upon the strong foundations of the first edition. This new edition addresses the 2015 AAMFT Code of Ethics as well as other professional organizations’ codes of ethics, and includes three new chapters: one on in-home family therapy, a common method of providing therapy to clients, particularly those involved with child protective services; one chapter on HIPAA and HITECH Regulations that practicing therapists need to know; and one chapter on professional issues, in which topics such as advertising, professional identity, supervision, and research ethics are addressed. This book is intended as a training text for students studying to be marriage and family therapists.

The Cambridge Handbook of Applied Psychological Ethics is a valuable resource for psychologists and graduate students hoping to further develop their ethical decision making beyond more introductory ethics texts. The book offers real-world ethical vignettes and considerations. Chapters cover a wide range of practice settings, populations, and topics, and are written by scholars in these settings. Chapters focus on the application of ethics to the ethical dilemmas in which mental health and other psychology professionals sometimes find themselves. Each chapter introduces a setting and gives readers a brief understanding of some of the potential ethical issues at hand, before delving deeper into the multiple ethical issues that must be addressed and the ethical principles and standards involved. No other book on the market captures the breadth of ethical issues found in daily practice and focuses entirely on applied ethics in psychology.

The definitive therapist manual for Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT)—one of the most empirically supported approaches to couple therapy. Andrew Christensen, codeveloper (along with the late Neil Jacobson) of Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy, and Brian Doss provide an essential manual for their evidence-based practice. The authors offer guidance on formulation, assessment, and feedback of couples’ distress from an IBCT perspective. They also detail techniques to achieve acceptance and deliberate change. In this updated edition of the work, readers learn about innovations to the IBCT approach in the 20+ years since the publication of the original edition—including refinements of core therapeutic techniques. Additionally, this edition provides new guidance on working with diverse couples, complex clinical issues, and integrating technology into a course of treatment.

Relational-Cultural Therapy (RCT) is developed to accurately address the relational experiences of persons in de-valued cultural groups. As a model, it is ideal for work with couples: it encourages active participation in relationships, fosters the well-being of everyone involved, and acknowledges that we grow through and toward relationships throughout the lifespan. Part and parcel with relationships is the knowledge that, whether intentionally or not, we fail each other, misunderstand each other, and hurt each other, causing an oftentimes enduring disconnect. This book helps readers understand the pain of disconnect and to use RCT to heal relationships in a variety of settings, including with heterosexual couples, lesbian and gay couples, and mixed race couples. Readers will note a blending of approaches (person-centered, narrative, systems, and feminist theory), all used to change the cultural conditions that can contribute to problems: unequal, sometimes abusive power arrangements, marginalization of groups, and rigid gender, race, and sexuality expectations. Readers will learn to help minimize economic and power disparities and encourage the growth of mutual empathy while looking at a variety of relational challenges, such as parenting, stepfamilies, sexuality, and illness. Polarities of “you vs. me” will be replaced with the healing concept of “us.”

"Regarded as the authoritative reference and text, this handbook presents the most effective, widely studied approaches to couple therapy. The distinguished coeditors bring together other leading experts, most of whom developed the approaches they describe. Adhering closely to a uniform structure to facilitate study and comparison, chapters cover the history, theoretical and empirical underpinnings, and techniques of each model. The volume also describes cutting-edge applications for particular relationship contexts (such as blended families, LGBT couples, and separated couples) and clinical problems (such as partner aggression, psychological disorders, and medical issues)"--

A guide to healthy romantic partnerships cites the importance of fairness as an essential component in addition to good communication skills and compatibility, in a resource that explains how differences in perceived fairness are at the core of most interpersonal conflicts.

Provides a panoramic view of changing social and cultural trends that influence the institution of marriage. This book covers ideas for resolving distress in intimate relationships. It explores the elements of relational ethics for professionals in the field. It is aimed at mental health professionals, family counselors, and other professionals.

This book explores the ethical and psychological dilemmas connected to the lived experiences of love, uniquely proposing an ethical framework that can be applied in loving relationships. The book provides an introduction to the study of ethics, moral psychology, and ancient philosophy. Examining key themes of love, such as unconditional love, romantic love, anger, desperation, and fairness, this book offers the reader a way to exercise and strengthen their personal critical thinking on ethical dilemmas, especially in relation to loving feelings. The author believes that ethics is the heart of love in the same way as logic is the brain of reasoning; we do not need ethics to love but we can love in a much healthier way if we train our ethical skills to love. After laying the theoretical framework for the book, chapters are organized into themes relating to ethical problems and begin with an exemplary piece from Greek and Latin literature. Using these writings as a starting point, Susi Ferrarello discusses whether it is possible to have a sound ethical theory of love, especially in cases relating to justice, despair, and rage, and demonstrates how this framework can be applied in new and established relationships. Filled with case studies throughout, spiritual exercises are listed at the end of chapters to help the reader increase their understanding of love and their ethical choices surrounding emotional dilemmas. This interdisciplinary book is essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students who take classes on ethics, marriage and family therapy, psychology, philosophy, classics, ancient philosophy, and politics, as well as those interested in the ethics of love and emotional decision-making.

Technology is virtually used within all facets of life such as in employment locations, educational institutions, and in interpersonal relationships and has become a necessary tool of contemporary living. Technology is useful for connecting and accomplishing tasks and much research has concentrated on the benefits of technology for fulfilling these functions. It is also known that technology use is highest among emerging adults, ages 18-25. Little research has been done to determine the influence of technology use on romantic relationships, especially among the emerging adult population. Knowing the impact of technology use on romantic relationships is crucial for mental health clinicians since technology is now integrated into everyday living. The research questions addressed in this study were aimed at shedding light on the impact of technology use on romantic relationships in the emerging adult population. These research questions were grounded in contextual family therapy used by mental health clinicians to assess and treat clients who present for therapy. The research questions explored in this study were: 1) Does a participant's perception of the impact of technology use (i.e. very positive, somewhat positive, somewhat negative, very negative) on their relationship influence relational ethics trust scores and intimacy scores in committed relationships? 2) Is there a difference in these relational ethics scores based on Facebook use between cohabiting couples versus non-cohabiting couples? 3) How does a participant's perception of the impact of technology use on their relationship impact relationship satisfaction and relational ethics scores? Data came from a collegiate sample in the Southeastern United States consisting of 248 respondents involved in any type of romantic relationship. Results indicated that a negative perception of the impact of technology use on a respondent's relationship was associated with lower relational outcomes for relational ethics, trust, intimacy, and relationship satisfaction. Results also indicated that there was no difference in relational ethic scores based on Facebook use between cohabiting verses non-cohabiting couples; however, Facebook use alone did impact relational ethics scores. Therefore, technology use can be described as negatively impacting various relational outcomes. Implications and future directions for mental health clinicians and researchers are discussed.