Individual Versus Couples or Family Treatment

Individual Versus Couples or Family Treatment
In cases of troubled relationships, an important question is whether to work
with the individual or with both (or all) parties. Motivation, readiness, and
responsibility are important considerations. If one person in the relationship
has no inclination to be involved in psychotherapy, eff orts at multipleparty
treatment may be unproductive or even harmful. And in some cases,
the presence of both partners or the whole family may distract from the real
issue, such as when one person needs to take individual responsibility or
deal with serious individual problems. But where everyone is in agreement
about sharing responsibility to improve the relationship, and no one has
such serious individual emotional problems as to doom the eff ort, couples or
family work can be quite helpful. Th ough distance sometimes makes these
sessions impractical, at times even that obstacle can be overcome.Individual Versus Couples or Family Treatment
In cases of troubled relationships, an important question is whether to work
with the individual or with both (or all) parties. Motivation, readiness, and
responsibility are important considerations. If one person in the relationship
has no inclination to be involved in psychotherapy, eff orts at multipleparty
treatment may be unproductive or even harmful. And in some cases,
the presence of both partners or the whole family may distract from the real
issue, such as when one person needs to take individual responsibility or
deal with serious individual problems. But where everyone is in agreement
about sharing responsibility to improve the relationship, and no one has
such serious individual emotional problems as to doom the eff ort, couples or
family work can be quite helpful. Th ough distance sometimes makes these
sessions impractical, at times even that obstacle can be overcome.