Marital therapy: a viable treatment for depression and marital discord

Abstract

Thirty-six maritally discordant couples with depressed wives were randomly assigned to marital therapy, cognitive therapy, or a waiting-list control condition. The women given marital or cognitive therapy showed significant and clinically meaningful reductions in their depression. The women given marital therapy showed greater increases in marital satisfaction than did those given cognitive therapy or no therapy; these differences were maintained at 1-year follow-up. These findings suggest that marital therapy may be the most effective and appropriate treatment for clinically significant marital discord with coexisting clinically significant depression.