Volume III of The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy focuses on therapy with couples. Information on the effectiveness of relational treatment is included along with consideration of the most appropriate modality for treatment. Developed in partnership with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), it will appeal to clinicians, such as couple, marital, and family therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists. It will also benefit researchers, educators, and graduate students involved in CMFT.

Karen S. Wampler, PhD, retired as Professor and Chair of the Human Development and Family Studies department at Michigan State University. She previously served as Department Chair, Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Program Director, and the C. R. and Virginia Hutcheson Professor at Texas Tech University.  Prior to that, she developed and directed the MFT Program at the University of Georgia. Her research focused on applying attachment theory to couple interaction, family therapy process research, and observational measures of relationships. A past editor of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, she received the AAMFT Contribution to MFT, NCFR Distinguished Service to Family Therapy, and NCFR Kathleen Briggs Mentor Awards.

Adrian J. Blow, PhD, works as a couple and family therapy intervention researcher and educator at Michigan State University. Adrian is a Professor and Chair in the Human Development and Family Studies department and a core faculty member of the Couple and Family Therapy program. He studies families and trauma, military families, resilience processes in couples, and change processes (common factors) in interventions pertaining to Systemic Family Therapy. He has acquired over 2 million dollars in research grants as Principal Investigator and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He has mentored many students and in 2017 was awarded the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Training Award, which recognizes excellence in family therapy education.

About the Editors xi

The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy

List of Contributors xv

Preface xxix

Volume 3 Preface xxxii

Systemic Family Therapy with Couples

Foreword xxxvii

Part I Overview 1

1 Current Status and Challenges in Systemic Family Therapy with Couples 3
Douglas K. Snyder and Christina M. Balderrama‐Durbin

2 Systematic and Culturally Sensitive Assessment of Couple Distress 27
Christina M. Balderrama‐Durbin, Douglas K. Snyder, Richard E. Heyman, and Stephen N. Haynes

Part II Problems in the Couple Relationship 49

3 Prevention of Couple Distress: Education, Enrichment Programs, and Premarital Counseling 51
Ryan G. Carlson, Andrew P. Daire, and Christopher J. Hipp

4 Treating Common Couple Concerns 77
Lee M. Williams

5 Couple Violence: In-Depth Assessment and Systemic Interventions 99
Sandra M. Stith, Chelsea M. Spencer, and Mona Mittal

6 Working with Queer Couples 123
Katie M. Heiden‐Rootes, Sheila M. Addison, and J. Douglas Pettinelli

7 Clinical Work with Intercultural Couples 155
Reenee Singh, Kyle D. Killian, Dharam Bhugun, and Shu‐Tsen Tseng

Part III Couple-Involved Therapies to Address Individual Disorders 185

8 Couple Interventions for Alcohol Use Disorders 187
Keith Klostermann and Timothy J. O’Farrell

9 Couple-Based Interventions for the Treatment of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders 207
Andrea K. Wittenborn, Brian R.W. Baucom, Feea R. Leifker, and E. Megan Lachmar

10 Posttraumatic Stress and Couples 227
Adrian J. Blow, Briana S. Nelson Goff, Adam M. Farero, and Lauren M. Ruhlmann

11 General and Health-Related Stress and Couples’ Coping 253
Guy Bodenmann and Ashley K. Randall

Part IV Special Issues 269

12 Therapy with Individuals and Couples Deciding to Continue or End Their Relationship 271
Steven M. Harris and Eugene L. Hall

13 Therapy for Divorcing Couples: Managing the Transition Out of the Relationship 295
Scott C Huff, Melinda Stafford Markham, Nicole R. Larkin, and Erin R. Bauer

14 Therapy with Remarried and Stepfamilies 317
Andrew S. Brimhall

15 Affair Recovery in Couple Therapy 343
Tina M. Timm and Katherine Hertlein

16 Integrating Couple Therapy into Work with Sexual Dysfunctions 363
Katherine Hertlein, Tina M. Timm, and Carissa D’Aniello

17 Couples and Infertility 385
Karina M. Shreffler, Kami L. Gallus, Brennan Peterson, and Arthur L. Greil

18 Grief and Loss Effects in the Couple Relationship 407
Ileana Ungureanu and Cadmona A. Hall

19 Couples in Later Life: The Process of Becoming 429
Jennifer J. Lambert‐Shute, Hoa N. Nguyen, and Christine A. Fruhauf

20 Clinical Work with Unpartnered Individuals Seeking a Long-Term Intimate Relationship 461
Jeffrey B. Jackson and Nicole Sabatini Gutierrez

Part V Future Directions 487

21 Couple Therapy: Therapist Development, Innovations in Treatment, and Needed Research 489
Benjamin E. Caldwell

22 Improving Couple Interventions for Underserved Populations 511
Shruti Singh Poulsen

23 Public Policy and Systemic Family Therapy for Couples 533
William J. Doherty

Index 551