Couples Group Psychotherapy ─ A Clinical Treatment Model

This book is an up-to-date model based on more than twenty years of work and research with outpatient couples groups. In the text, therapists will find everything they need to conceptualize and develop a successful practice based on group psychotherapy for couples. The book combines tenets of individual personality development, family systems theory, and group psychotherapy theory, blending aspects of the theoretical basis of each in order to build a conceptual framework that incorporates the strengths of all three.
Couples Group Psychotherapy also shows clinicians how to use this framework to treat individual clients, how to assess the group’s progress, and how to understand the evolving relationship between participating couples. The model is a cost-effective, time-efficient way to address the needs of diverse communities and uncommon settings, and it harnesses the best of both family and group psychotherapy. Clinicians will come away from this book with a significantly enhanced skillset and a broadened understanding of how to treat couples effectively.

Judith Coché is a clinical professor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, where she is also coordinator of the group psychotherapy residency training program. She is a diplomate in clinical psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology and is a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Her other certifications include clinical supervisor in family and couples psychotherapy from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as certified group psychotherapist. Dr. Coché is a fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association and of the Human Services Center of the Philadelphia Society of Clinical Psychologists and has practiced psychotherapy and worked as a clinical supervisor for psychotherapists for more than twenty five years.

Rutan, Foreword. Introduction. Part I: Structuring Couples Group Psychotherapy. Preparing Couples for Couples Group Psychotherapy. Structuring an Efficient Treatment Package. Establishing and Maintaining Workable Group Policies. Part II: Psychotherapy with Couples in Groups. Treatment Skills with Intimate Partners. Building Cohesiveness in Couples and Groups. Making the Most of the Stages of Group Development. Designing Effective Structured Interventions. Part III: Integrating Theory, Research, and Treatment for Couples in Groups. The Intervention Hierarchy: Four Levels. Handling Predictable Problems in Ongoing Groups. Coordinating Clinical Diagnosis with Outcome Research. Recent Advances in Couples Expertise: Theory, Research, and Practice. Appendices. Appendix A. Group Therapy Forms and Policies. Appendix B. Structured Exercises for Members. Appendix C: Educating Couples about Communication. Appendix D: A Who’s Who of Our Couples.