Marital and Family Therapy

Kevin Smith

One of the many different reasons that a person sees a therapist would be because of family and relationship problems. When dealing with a one on one session the dynamics are clear as that there is only one patient. But when those dynamics are changed with the introduction of a second variable such as that of the spouse, partner, or possibly other family member it can become a little complicated as to who the patient/client is.

Individual therapy consists of a simple dynamic of the therapist and the client; it is always a one on one setting and affords the client an in-depth approach to diagnosing and working through problems through a form of self-evaluation. Personal goals are set as to where the outcome of the therapy will go and at the same time, a timeline is set with achievement milestones to show the progress. This form of therapy is more predominantly found in the private practice sector of psychology. While there are times that sessions might start out as a one on one, it might lead to family or even marriage counseling, and thus turn into a group session or sessions. According to an article that was written for PsychPage on relationship issue states; however, couples therapy helps the partners decide on what to do. They may decide “the thrill is gone” from their marriage, but that they should stay together due to their religious beliefs, for example, or because they have young children. However, that isn’t enough to make them happy together, and it is not enough to create a happy home for their children. Individual therapy may help you decide to stay married or divorce. For relationship issues, however, couples therapy helps the partners decide on what to do. They may decide “the thrill is gone” from their marriage, but that they should stay together due to their religious beliefs, for example, or because they have young children. However, that isn’t enough to make them happy together, and it is not enough to create a happy home for their children. Individual therapy may help you decide to stay married or divorce (Noilon, R., 2010). When this conclusion that to stay together for the sake of the children, couples have to ask themselves is it the best thing for the children? This is because how will they family act when not together but with the children, and will the children notice a ‘fake affection’ within the family dynamics?

During couples or family/marital therapy the main goal is to improve relations between the couple, which usually begins with having both parties in the session together. While there are times that the sessions might start out as individual sessions with each member, and then develop into a couple’s session. This gives the therapist an idea of where both parties feel there are problems. Another reason for bringing both parties into the same therapy session is it affords the therapist the opportunity to observe how the couple reacts to each other, thus showing the true triggers to the emotional problems that they are facing. With marriage and family therapy the goals are set not on an individual basis, but on a compromising basis, each member has their own things that they want to accomplish. There are still going to be a timeline and milestones that will show progress, but those will be based on the input of the couple.

The American Psychological Association (APA) there are certain ethical standards that have to be kept, Standard 10.02 titled Therapy Involving Couples and Families clearly states when psychologists agree to provide services to several persons who have a relationship (such as spouses, significant others, or parents and children), they take reasonable steps to clarify at the outset (1) which of the individuals are clients/patients and (2) the relationship the psychologist will have with each person. This clarification includes the psychologist’s role and the probable uses of the services provided or the information obtained (APA, 2017). This Standard sets the basis for the relationship that will exist between the therapist and the clients. Another reason for this standard is to protect the therapist from entering multiple relationships that can affect the level of treatment for the clients.

The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), which like the American Psychological Association (APA) and American Counselors Association (ACA), licenses and give accreditation to those practicing as marriage and family therapists. According to the AAMFT the patient/client in a marriage family therapy session are both parties involved. This not only helps the therapist assist the family in resolving issues together, but also removes any bias that either the therapist or the family members may have towards the other, which is made clear in the consent that is given. Standard 1 entitled Responsibility to Clients under section 1.2 which states that informed consent as; marriage and family therapists obtain appropriate informed consent to therapy or related procedures and use language that is reasonably understandable to clients. When persons, due to age or mental status, are legally incapable of giving informed consent, marriage and family therapists obtain informed permission from a legally authorized person, if such substitute consent is legally permissible. The content of informed consent may vary depending upon the client and treatment plan; however, informed consent generally necessitates that the client: (a) has the capacity to consent; (b) has been adequately informed of significant information concerning treatment processes and procedures; (c) has been adequately informed of potential risks and benefits of treatments for which generally recognized standards do not yet exist; (d) has freely and without undue influence expressed consent; and (e) has provided consent that is appropriately documented (AAMFT, 2017). Commonly it is only when there are either young or adolescent children involved in the sessions that the age of consent truly holds as an issue. There is not much difference between this standard and the same standard used by the APA defining age of consent.

The difference between a clinical psychologist and a therapist is a clinical psychologist has a more specialized degree within psychology, where a therapist tends to have degrees that have a more general practice scope; these scopes can include family therapy, early childhood development, anything that gives more focus to the sub-field. Clinical psychologists are more prepared to diagnose and find appropriate treatments based on observations, and most importantly would be the fact that clinical psychologists are more apt to work closer with psychiatrists with patients. If the patients/clients were going into a study to examine the problems of their marriage, then a clinical psychologist would be what they need to look into.

References

American Psychological Association, Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, Standard 10: Therapy 10.02a, 2017 retrieved from

http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Code of Ethics, Standard 1: Responsibility to Clients, 1.2: Informed Consent, 2017 retrieved from

http://www.aamft.org/iMIS15/AAMFT/Content/Legal_Ethics/Code_of_Ethics.aspx

Noilon, R. PhD., PsychPage, What’s the Difference Between Couples and Individual Therapy, 2010, retrieved from

http://www.psychpage.com/uncategorized/couple_therapy_genera.html/comment-page-1