Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy Research Articles

Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy is as effective as Traditional Behavioral Couple Therapy for distressed couples

Christensen A, Atkins DC, Berns S, et al . Traditional versus integrative behavioral couple therapy for significantly and chronically distressed married couples. J Consult Clin Psychol 2004;72:176–91.[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3][Web of Science][4] Q...

From traditional behavioral couple therapy to integrative behavioral couple therapy: New research directions.

Integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT; Jacobson & Christensen, 1996) grew out of traditional behavioral couple therapy (TBCT; Jacobson & Margolin, 1979), but has expanded on this approach to emphasize the important role of acceptance in relationships. Addressing many of the limitations highlighted in research on TBCT, integrative behavioral couple therapy focuses on different controlling variables in the development of couple dysfunction and is part of an ongoing movement in behavior therapy toward the use of acceptance strategies. Early in its development, IBCT has not yet been researched thoroughly enough to be classified as efficacious; however, this approach has the potential to significantly enhance TBCT and is being evaluated in ongoing clinical trials. Future research should capitalize on the unique emphasis in IBCT on acceptance. Specific recommendations for future research include (a) establishing IBCT as an empirically supported treatment, (b) investigating the efficacy of IBCT to varied populations, (c) more closely defining and examining the mechanisms of action in IBCT. ********** Traditional behavioral couple therapy (TBCT; Jacobson & Margolin, 1979) has had the distinction of being the most widely studied and empirically supported intervention available for the treatment of relationship distress for more than two decades. TBCT was developed to target the dysfunctional patterns, communication difficulties, and poor problem-solving behaviors often associated with relationship discord. Based on social learning theory and findings from research with distressed couples, TBCT consists largely of strategies to promote skill acquisition and behavioral change among partners. Empirical support for the efficacy of TBCT is considerable; however, several studies have highlighted key limitations of this approach. In an effort to address the shortcomings of TBCT, Jacobson and Christensen (1996) developed Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT). IBCT is grounded in contextually based behavioral theory and interweaves the well-established components of TBCT that promote accommodation and change between partners with newer acceptance-based strategies. Consequently, many of the treatment recommendations in IBCT share similarities with those proposed in several of the burgeoning treatment approaches based in contextual-behavioral theory that emphasize acceptance-based strategies, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 2000), Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP; Kohlenberg & Tsai, 1991), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993). Traditional Behavioral Couple Therapy (TBCT) Jacobson and Margolin (1979) developed TBCT (formerly known as behavioral marital therapy; BMT) largely based on social learning and behavioral exchange theories of marital discord. Research from social learning theory suggested that couples who exchange negative or aversive behaviors with high frequency and who lack communication and problem resolution skills were likely to experience poor relationship adjustment (Gottman, 1980). These findings fit well within the context of social exchange theory, which posits that relationship satisfaction is associated with the ratio of costs and benefits received in the current relationship, relative to perceived alternatives to the current relationship. A higher ratio of positive to negative behavior denotes a higher frequency of reinforcing behaviors, fewer punishers, and more satisfaction. From this framework, TBCT treatment primarily involves: (a) behavioral exchange, strategies aimed at increasing the exchange of positive behaviors between partners, (b) communication training, to enhance skills in communicating desires, needs, feelings and thoughts, and (c) problem resolution training, to improve the couples' facility and efficiency in working together to resolve problems inside and outside of the marriage. …

Behavior analysis and the scientific study of couples.

Behavior analysis has recently contributed a great deal to the study of couples. The current paper reviews several of those contributions. First, the contributions of behavior analysis to the development of Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (ICT) are discussed. It is concluded that behavior analysis has guided ICT to be more flexible, more thoroughly contextual, and more attentive to naturally occurring contingencies for change. Second, a behavior analytic exploration of acceptance is discussed, highlighting the what, when, and how of acceptance in therapy. Third, a behavioral conceptualization of intimacy is reviewed, highlighting the contributions that behavior analytic principals make to our understanding of the intimacy process. Finally, the contributions of behavior analysis to the study and treatment of depression are briefly reviewed, with an emphasis on conceptualizing depression in context. ********** Behavior analysis has recently contributed a great deal to the study of couples. Although the study of couples has a long history of using behavioral observation as a key method, a great deal of the work has been either consciously pre-theoretical (in an inductive sense; e.g., Gottman, 1994) or inspired by common-sense theory. Recently, however, those in the field are rediscovering the theoretical and practical utility of behavior analysis. A Behavior Analytic Approach to Couple Therapy An excellent example of this process of rediscovery can be found in the evolution of traditional behavioral marital therapy (Jacobson & Margolin, 1979) into its current manifestation as integrative couple therapy (Christensen & Jacobson, 1991; Jacobson & Christensen, 1998). Traditionally, behavioral marital therapy was rooted in social learning and behavior exchange theories. As such it was primarily focused on identifying relationship skill as the etiology of relationship distress and addressing those skill through systematic skills training. In addition to being focused on observable interpersonal skills, traditional behavioral marital therapy was inspired by the results of nomothetic research that highlighted the differences between groups of distressed couples versus groups of non-distressed couples. In other words, the targets of intervention were those things that had been found through nomothetic research to distinguish distressed from non-distressed couples. For example, distressed couples appeared to communicate more poorly, to have more difficulty solving even small problems, and to engage in fewer exchanges of positive behaviors than non-distressed couples. From a social learning theory perspective, these group differences were interpreted as skill and interventions were formulated to teach partners the skills that would allow them to communicate and solve problems more effectively, and exchange positive behaviors more frequently. Unfortunately, these topographical group differences in many instances may have been simple reflections of other problems having little to do with literal skill deficits. For example, what appeared to be poor problem-solving skills may have been in fact the end result of partners being too emotionally upset with each other to cooperate effectively. In their daily lives, the partners in these couples tend to have no difficulty communicating and problem solving with others. It is only in the context of an emotionally strained marriage that these deficits materialize. In addition to seeing skill where no such actually existed, outcome studies of traditional behavioral marital therapy were finding that only approximately half of those couples presenting for therapy eventually improved their marital satisfaction and remained improved over time (Jacobson & Follette, 1985; Jacobson, Schmaling, & Holtzworth-Munroe, 1987). Although a 50% success rate is admirable, it remained the case that a great many couples were not benefiting as much as would be ultimately desirable. …

Bridging theory and practice: A comparative analysis of integrative behavioral couple therapy and cognitive behavioral couple therapy

The purpose of the paper is to provide behaviorally and cognitive behaviorally oriented couples' therapists with a comparison of Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT) and Cognitive Behavioral Marital Therapy (CBMT) that highlights similarities and differences between these two therapeutic approaches to treating marital discord. Both approaches derive from traditional behavioral marital therapy (BMT) but have emphasized emotional and cognitive factors more so than BMT. IBCT's contextual, or radical behavioral, viewpoint has translated to interventions that aim to establish a dyadic context supporting acceptance, empathy, and understanding through both acceptance and behavior change strategies. Rooted in social cognitive theory, CBMT also aims to increase acceptance, empathy, and understanding, but does so primarily through change-based interventions that target dysfunctional cognitive, behavioral, and affective responses and processes. It is our contention that understanding the relationship between the underlying theories and practices of these empirically supported approaches may improve their effective dissemination and use within the practice community.

A Random Sample of Current Research

Abstract In this Research Update the following articles will be summarized: Article One looks at the reliability and validity of adolescent self reports in a treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Article Two by Michael Robbins, James Alexander, and Charles Turner investigates the usefulness of refraining as an intervention in disrupting defensive family interactions. Article Three by Neil Jacobson and his colleagues explores Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy as a new marital therapy. This new marital therapy is compared with traditional behavioral couple therapy. Article Four focuses on the association among trauma exposure and children with oppositional defiant disorder and attention deficit-hyperactive disorder. Article Five by Brad Bushman, Roy Baumeister, and Angela Stack describes two studies on catharsis as a method of reducing aggression and the conclusions on the ineffectiveness of this method. Finally, Article Six by Toni Zimmerman, Shelley Haddock, and Christine McGeorge qu...

Integrative behavioral couple therapy: An acceptance-based, promising new treatment for couple discord.

Integrative behavioral couple therapy: An acceptance-based, promising new treatment for couple discord.