The Hamburg Model: Couples Therapy at Century's End

Abstract

Since the Hamburg Model of couples therapy was first used at the beginning of the 1970s, a great deal has changed. Gender relations are, at least in Western countries, in a state of upheaval, and family structures have become more complex and varied. A large proportion of the women, and some of the men, who seek help at this facility because of sexual problems have undergone some form of sexual traumatization. Fewer than before have the classical sexual dysfunctions, and more—mainly women but men too—complain of so-called lack of sexual desire. Even the main paradigm, heterosexuality, shows signs of becoming shaky. When working out this therapeutic concept of treating heterosexual couples in the 70s, this model drew on the ideas of several American researchers including Masters and Johnson, Lobitz, LoPiccolo, Kaplan, and others. The evaluation and the results proved practicable and effective for the mainly urban West German clientele at that time. This article describes the ways that the changes mentioned above were tackled; the personal and social issues inherent in treating couples; and some of the latest perspectives, modifications, and new emphases designed to meet clients' needs at the start of a new century. Selected new empirical data on the effectiveness of this method of couples therapy are also presented.