This study investigated how a therapist and clients created couple change over the course of 15 sessions of Experiential Systemic Therapy (ExST) for the marital treatment of alcohol dependency. The aim of this research was to explore how change occurred during a single case of successful ExST and to refine and expand ExST theory. ExST has been shown to be an effective treatment for couple recovery from alcohol dependence yet little research has focused on how change occurs in ExST. The case selected for analysis was an exemplar of successful ExST couples therapy. The case met several criteria for success including therapist and client satisfaction with therapy, the cessation of alcoholic drinking, increased marital satisfaction at posttest and follow-up periods, and evidence of in-session couple change. Two therapy episodes containing relational novelty (couple change) were analyzed using the Comprehensive Discourse Analysis procedure. The results of this study highlighted the existence of a subtype of relational novelty called syncretic relational novelty. Syncretic change refers to the generation of intimacy by therapist and couple where initially there existed disparate beliefs and behaviour that isolated system members. The study found that the couple’s distance oriented beliefs and practices were reconciled and intimacy was enhanced through the employment of intense experiential activities and the provision of a collaborative therapeutic atmosphere. These two activities fostered increased couple intimacy by encouraging clients to engage one another through self disclosure, empathy, shared vulnerability, increased cooperation and greater personal awareness. Couple intimacy was fostered during experiential activity through a carefully paced intensification of clients’ thoughts, feelings and physical sensations. In addition, intimacy was facilitated by the therapist when she accepted clients’ experiences and adopted clients’ language styles. As well as working collaboratively, the therapist acted as a therapeutic guide interceding during harmful spousal interactions, altering the therapy agenda at client request, promoting joint decision-making and valuing marginalized client experience. Recommendations based on these findings were made for the refinement and expansion of ExST theory. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Research on health in old age finds gender and racial differences in physical and mental health and points to several social factors that can influence health in later life, including marriage. However, it remains unclear whether the health impacts of marriage differ between men and women or across racial groups in later life. Using the Health and Retirement Study, this project aims to explore the impact of both marital status and marital history on health outcomes, and how gender and race impact these effects. To capture a comprehensive view of health, this study incorporates a wide range of measures, addressing both physical and mental health. Using the gender relations framework, Chapter 2 examines the impact of marital status and history on gender differences in physical health outcomes, including self-rated health, functional limitations, and chronic conditions, of older Americans; Chapter 3 explores the influence of marital status and history on gender differences in mental health outcomes, including life satisfaction, positive affect, depression, and alcohol consumption, of older Americans. Along with the intersectionality framework, Chapter 4 investigates the effect of gender and race intersections on the relationship between marital status, marital history, and self-rated health of older Americans. The results highlight the critical need to consider both gender and race when evaluating the impact of marriage on health outcomes in later life. / Doctor of Philosophy / As the population ages, understanding how different factors affect health in later life becomes increasingly important. While past research has examined health differences across genders and marital status, this study takes a broader approach by exploring the combined impact of gender, marital status, marital history, and race on health outcomes in older adults. Using data from a large national survey, this study finds that marital status and marital history significantly influence both physical and mental health, and that these effects differ by gender. Moreover, gender and race together shape how marital experiences affect health. This research highlights the need to consider both gender and race when studying the effects of marriage on health in later life. These insights are essential for informing policies aimed at promoting healthier aging for all the people.

In this study the controversial issue of whether to express or not to express anger was investigated. Three different approaches to dealing with anger in an experimental setting with couples were examined. The results support the notion presented by Holt (1970) and Deutsch (1969) that there may be constructive and destructive ways of dealing with anger in an interpersonal relationship, and argue against the conclusions of Berkowitz (1970) and Ellis, (1976) that the expression of anger is so dangerous that it should be avoided. Following role-play of vignettes of typical marital conflicts, subjects in one condition made I-Statements to their partners about their feelings, subjects in a second condition made You-Statements, and subjects in the No-Expression condition listened to a lecture. On outcome measures designed to tap anger, happiness, emotional closeness and distance from partner, liking for partner, other positive and negative feelings, and empathy for partner, I-Statement subjects consistently reported more positive change in their feelings than did You-Statement subjects, and rated their partners as having significantly more empathy in paraphrasing their positions, feelings, beliefs, and wishes. The No-Expression condition did not differ from the I-Statement on variables which measured feelings on anger, happiness, and other "good" and "bad" feelings. However, the No-Expression condition was more like the You-Statement condition in failing to decrease emotional distance or increase measures of empathy, agreement, and feeling understood. Neutral activity which involves time out from interaction with the partner may help to dissipate anger, but seems not to enhance "intimacy," as indicated by lack of change on the variables which involve mutuality and exchange. The I-Statement condition is viewed as superior to either the No-Expression condition or You-Statement condition in conflict resolution, as the I-Statement condition brings about both the dissipation of anger and the restoration of intimacy. It is concluded that there is no evidence from this study, which involves moderate emotional arousal, that avoiding expression of feeling in a conflict situation is superior to talking about the feelings engendered by the conflict. However, I-Statements lead to more constructive changes in feelings and in one's capacity to empathize than do You-Statements.

This study deals, with Edith Wharton's literary attitude toward woman's limited place in society and her opportunities for happiness in acceptance of or rebellion against conventional standards. Wharton's works, specifically her novels, contain recurrent character types functioning in recurrent situations. Similarity in the themes of Wharton's various works illustrates her basic idea: woman, lacking independence and identity, needs the security of tradition's order.

Psicóloga / La presente investigación tuvo por objetivo reconocer como se relaciona el concepto de desplazamiento con el proceso de infidelidad que vive una pareja. Para ello, se utilizó un enfoque metodológico de carácter cualitativo a través de un estudio de caso en profundidad, en donde se realizó una revisión de un proceso psicoterapéutico -enmarcado dentro del trabajo de atención clínica del Equipo de Trabajo y Asesoría Sistémica- llevado a cabo en la Clínica de atención psicológica de la Universidad de Chile (CAP’s) por una pareja durante 3 meses, cuyo motivo de consulta principal fue la infidelidad. Posteriormente, se llevó a cabo un análisis de carácter hermenéutico, en donde dichas impresiones, en una triangulación con la teoría, permitieron finalmente reflexionar, discutir y proponer distintos elementos que permitieron aportar a un vacío teórico existente respecto de un fenómeno que suele estudiarse en el antes: buscando causas; o en él durante: buscando analizar el proceso mismo, pero muy poco en el después: los desplazamientos, como sí pretendió este estudio

Thesis advisor: Bernard O'Brien / This study investigated the phenomenology of marriage as experienced by couples who professed to enjoy a successful marriage. A qualitative approach was chosen to elucidate the multifaceted levels of experience in the marital relationship. In-depth interviews were conducted with twelve middle class, Caucasian couples from an urban area on the East Coast. Subjects were chosen from volunteers who had been married for at least twenty years and whose youngest child was out of high school. The interview covered the development of the couples' relationships from the initial attraction through the child-rearing years, and into the current post-child-rearing stage. Expectations, roles, and problem-solving were examined. Socioeconomic factors, religion, family, ethnicity, and finances were discussed as they related to the marriage. The influence of participants' parents' marriages was explored. The data collected were analyzed for salient themes, categories and critical issues in marital satisfaction. Twelve major themes emerged from the data. Of the twelve, four were salient: expectations of marriage, similarity of values, mutuality, and selective understanding. The strategy of selective understanding proved to be the core category, the one which related to the majority of other categories. These findings are useful for clinical and preventive applications, for their contribution to theories of marital satisfaction, and for guiding future research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 1992. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Education.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-65).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-98). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis(Ph.D.)--Case Western Reserve University, 2010 / Title from PDF (viewed on 2010-01-28) Department of Social Welfare Includes abstract Includes bibliographical references and appendices Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.