Couples' perceptions of effective and ineffective ingredients of marital therapy

Reports from 15 couples of the helpful and hindering aspects of their marital therapy were sorted into 12 effective ingredient categories and 5 ineffective categories. The couples were interviewed after receiving eight sessions of marital therapy. Results indicate that couples expect marital therapists to be active, directive, and focused while providing a safe and empathic therapeutic environment. Also, couples identified therapist mistakes such as wasting time and being unclear in therapy as detrimental to therapy. The implications of these empirically derived processes for the theory, research, and practice of marital therapy are discussed.