Relationship Enhancement Couples Group Therapy

ABSTRACT

This study tested whether a short term, therapeutic intervention could be used to strengthen rural, southern marriages. In a group private practice in South Georgia, twenty-two couples were taught Relationship Enhancement skills in a group format. They were an all clinical sample of distressed couples and were led by experienced male/female co-therapy teams. Statistical analyses found that marital adjustment, trust, intimacy, and marital communication increased during treatment for the couples. The average couple went from the distressed category of marital adjustment on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) to the nondistressed category over the six months of treatment and follow up.

KEYWORDS:

• Relationship enhancement
• couples group therapy
• distressed marital couples
• communication