A Prime Time for Marital/Relational Intervention: A Review of the Transition to Parenthood Literature with Treatment Recommendations

The transition to parenthood is a near universal experience for individuals and families, yet there is a severe lack of applied research and clinical treatment guidelines. Justification for a greater clinical emphasis on this transition is made through a review of the common changes experienced by new parents. Intervention guidelines are offered in the areas of client/participant recruitment, assessment, and clinical areas of focus. Specific topics that should be addressed in treatment include the parents' family-of-origin influences and individual personality characteristics, changes experienced in the couple relationship, and important contextual issues.

An earlier version of this manuscript was presented as a poster, “Pre-conception and pre-natal counseling: Important points,” at the 2000 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy annual conference, Denver, Colorado. The authors would like to give special thanks to Casey Henceroth for help in the original review of literature.