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Enhancing the Relationship Adjustment of S outh A sian C anadian Couples Using a Systemic‐Constructivist Approach to Couple Therapy
Author(s) -
Ahmad Saunia,
Reid David W.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/jmft.12161
Subject(s) - psychology , reciprocity (cultural anthropology) , social psychology , psychological intervention , identity (music) , physics , psychiatry , acoustics
The effectiveness of systemic‐constructivist couple therapy ( SCCT ) in improving the relationship adjustment of S outh A sian C anadian couples in ways that attend to their culture was evaluated. The SCCT interventions engage partners in reflexive processing of both their own and their partner's ways of construing, and the reciprocity between these two. A core change mechanism of SCCT , couple identity (“we‐ness”), that connotes the ability for thinking and experiencing relationally, was coded from verbatim transcripts of partners' within‐session dialogue. As predicted, S outh A sian partners' relationship adjustment improved significantly from the first to final session of SCCT , and concurrent increases in each partner's couple identity mediated such improvements. The implications for considering culture and couple identity in couple therapy are discussed. Video Abstract is found in the online version of the article .