A family reunion of "clinical cousins": Attachment and emotion in four family-oriented therapy models.

Attachment theory and the science of emotion provide a strong foundation for intervention at the family system level. Four therapeutic models in particular, Attachment-Based Family Therapy, Emotion-Focused Family Therapy, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, and Emotionally Focused Family Therapy, demonstrate how a broad and accurate view of attachment relationships and emotion can be utilized to effectively intervene for a variety of presenting problems in a relational and empathic way for all involved. This paper continues a conversation that began at the Summit for Attachment and Emotion in Family Therapy in 2021 and aims to foster openness, collaboration, and affirmation between four different models of family therapy with shared theoretical roots. The presenters at the Summit and the authors of this paper view similarities across these models as validating and differences as opportunities to serve more families in unique ways, learning from one another's creativity to promote healing within families in the most effective and efficient ways possible. The paper frames the value of attachment theory and emotion science for family therapy, discusses the importance of learning from a variety of models with shared theoretical roots, presents brief summaries of the four models presented at the Summit, compares the models for similarities and complementarities, and shares highlights from each of the presenters from the Summit.

Processes and outcomes of an emotion-focused family therapy two-chair intervention for transforming problematic parenting patterns.

Emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT) is a therapy model which includes a two-chair intervention aimed at facilitating awareness and an interruption of problematic patterns of parenting as well as a reconnection to healthy caregiving instincts. The present study employed a task analysis to examine the process of this intervention with parents in a therapeutic setting and report on preliminary outcomes. Four trained EFFT therapists conducted chair work interventions with four parents (total of 16) and parents completed questionnaires directly following the intervention. Results indicated that most parents experienced significant emotional resolution of their love-based fears and an increase in confidence in supporting their children struggling with mental health issues. Use of the intervention in clinical settings is an effective and efficient way to support parents in responding to their children's mental health challenges.

What are the Marital Problems of Happy Couples? A Multimethod, Two-Sample Investigation.

How couples handle marital conflict may depend on what issues they are facing, as some issues may be more difficult to resolve than others. What is unclear, however, is what issues happy couples face and how these issues may be different for couples depending on their developmental stage. To explore this possibility, the current study used both self-reports and observations drawn from two separate samples of happily married couples-one early in middle adulthood (N = 57 couples; average marital duration = 9 years) and one in older adulthood (N = 64 couples; average marital duration = 42 years). Results indicated that all issues were relatively minor, but early middle-aged couples reported more significant problems than did older couples. As to determining the most salient topic for happy couples, it depended on the spouses' gender, developmental stage, and how salience was assessed (i.e., highest rated issue vs. most discussed issue). Only moderate links were found between what happy couples said was their most serious concern and what they actually tried to resolve during observations of marital problem-solving, but there were differences in how spouses behaved based on the proportion of their time discussing certain topics. Findings suggest that more attention should be devoted to understanding what marital issues happy couples discuss and why, as doing so may reveal how couples maintain their marital happiness.

Las maneras en las que las parejas manejan el conflicto conyugal puede depender de qué problemas enfrentan, ya que algunos problemas pueden ser más difíciles de resolver que otros. Sin embargo, lo que no está claro es qué problemas enfrentan las parejas felices y cómo estos pueden ser diferentes para las parejas según su etapa de desarrollo. Para analizar esta posibilidad, el presente estudio utilizó autoinformes y observaciones tomados de dos muestras distintas de parejas felizmente casadas: una a principios de la mediana edad (N = 57 parejas; duración conyugal promedio = 9 años) y una en la tercera edad (N = 64 parejas; duración conyugal promedio = 42 años). Los resultados indicaron que todos los problemas fueron relativamente menores, pero las parejas de principios de la mediana edad informaron problemas más importantes que las parejas mayores. En cuanto a la determinación del problema más prominente para las parejas felices, dependió del género de los cónyuges, la etapa de desarrollo y cómo se evaluó la prominencia (p. ej.: el problema más puntuado frente al problema más debatido). Solo se hallaron vínculos moderados entre lo que las parejas felices declararon como su mayor preocupación y lo que en realidad intentaron resolver durante las observaciones de la resolución de problemas conyugales, pero hubo diferencias en las maneras en las que los cónyuges se comportaron según la proporción de su tiempo debatiendo ciertos temas. Los resultados sugieren que debería dedicarse más atención a comprender qué problemas conyugales debaten las parejas felices y por qué, ya que hacerlo puede revelar cómo las parejas mantienen su felicidad conyugal.

Are Older Adults Unique? Examining Presenting Issues and Changes in Therapy Across the Life Span.

With the urgent need to increase and improve mental health care of the growing population of older adults in the United States, clinical research is warranted to further the knowledge and improve the relevant training for mental health professionals working with older adults. This study drew from two diverse clinical samples of adults ages 18 years to 80 years to examine whether and how initial clinical presentations and changes over time in individual, family-of-origin, and relational measures differed across the life span. Results indicated a variety of linear and curvilinear associations between individual, family-of-origin, and relational measures at intake and age, with some moderation by gender. There were no significant results between the amount of change on those measures and age, indicating that older adults may change in similar fashion to middle-aged and younger adults in psychotherapy. Relevant clinical implications are provided.

Beyond "Lots of Hugs and Kisses": Expressions of Parental Love From Parents and Their Young Children in Two-Parent, Financially Stable Families.

Given that parental love is essential for children's optimal development, the current study gathered examples of how parental love was demonstrated within parent-child relationships. Fifty-eight two-parent, financially stable families consisting of a mother, father, and young child (3-7 years old) from the Midwest were interviewed regarding how they demonstrated or perceived parental love. Results from an inductive thematic analysis revealed considerable variability in how parental love was demonstrated, with five themes emerging that overlapped between parents and their children: playing or doing activities together, demonstrating affection, creating structure, helping or supporting, and giving gifts or treats. Some gendered patterns among these themes were found with mothers emphasizing physical and verbal affection and fathers highlighting their more prominent role as playmates. The lay examples provided by parents and children in this exploratory study extend previous conceptualizations of parental love and underscore the importance of parents being attuned and responsive to the specific needs of their children.

Compassionate love as a mechanism linking sacred qualities of marriage to older couples' marital satisfaction.

Previous work has underscored the robust links between sanctification of marriage and marital outcomes, and recent developments in the literature suggest that compassionate love, which is important for intimate relationships, may act as a mediator of that relationship. Accordingly, the current study used actor-partner interdependence models to examine the relationship between a spiritual cognition (i.e., perceived sacred qualities of marriage) and marital satisfaction, and to determine whether that relationship is mediated by compassionate love, in a sample of older married couples (N = 64). Results revealed that wives' greater sacred qualities of marriage were significantly and positively linked to marital satisfaction on the part of both spouses, and that these links were partially mediated by couples' reports of compassionate love. These findings highlight the importance of moving beyond simply establishing the existence of the link between global markers of involvement of religion and marriage to understanding how specific spiritual cognitions may foster better relationship quality, especially among older couples.