Observed communication in couples two years after integrative and traditional behavioral couple therapy: Outcome and link with five-year follow-up.

Summary & key facts

Researchers watched how couples talked to each other after finishing two types of couple therapy. They checked communication about two years after treatment ended and looked at relationship status five years later. Both therapies led to better communication right after therapy, and the version called integrative behavioral couple therapy kept those communication gains more over time. But changes in how couples talked did not strongly predict how the relationship was doing five years later. This means improving communication is helpful, but it might not be the only thing that determines long-term relationship success.

Key facts:

• The study compared two kinds of couple therapy: integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT) and traditional behavioral couple therapy (TBCT).
• Observers rated couples' real interactions about two years after therapy ended to see how their communication had changed.
• Both therapies produced improvements in observed communication after treatment ended.
• Couples who did IBCT showed better maintenance of those communication improvements over the follow-up period than couples who did TBCT.
• There was only limited evidence that better observed communication predicted how couples were doing five years after treatment.
• The findings suggest that improving communication is useful, but it may not be enough by itself to ensure a relationship stays healthy in the long run.

Abstract

We found support for improvements in observed communication following treatment termination, with IBCT demonstrating greater maintenance of communication improvement over follow-up. We found limited evidence of associations between communication and relationship outcomes at 5-year follow-up.

Topics

Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications

Categories

Psychology Social Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Clinical psychology Internal medicine Marital Therapy Medicine Psychology Psychotherapist Randomized controlled trial