Ryan B. Seedall

Diversity, Social Justice, and Intersectionality Trends in C/MFT: A Content Analysis of Three Family Therapy Journals, 2004–2011

In this study, we analyzed the amount of attention given to diversity, social justice, and an intersectional approach to social inequalities over an 8-year period (769 articles) in three family therapy journals. Overall, 28.1% of articles addressed at least one diversity issue, and a social justice framework was utilized in 48.1% of diversity articles. A systemic, intersectional approach to conceptualizing and analyzing multiple social inequalities was utilized in 17.6% of diversity articles. The most common goals addressed in diversity articles, articles using a social justice framework, and articles using an intersectional approach are also identified. Findings indicate that, despite important work being carried out, more work remains to further identify how addressing diversity issues can improve client outcomes.

Couples' Experience of Enactments and Softening in Marital Therapy 1

Softening is empirically related to therapy outcome. enactments are conceptualized as an effective mechanism for relational mediation and a potentially useful tool for fostering softening. Recent scholarly work has expanded upon existing operationalization of enactments by sequencing them developmentally and adapting them to varying levels of couple reactivity and volatility (butler & gardner, 2003). This research utilized qualitative methodology to test questions raised by this developmental model of enactments. Results indicated that volatile couples generally viewed carefully structured, enactments with micro-process intervention more positively than they viewed free-form enactments with therapist coaching. Less volatile couples, however, accommodated both kinds of enactments and reported advantages for each. overall, findings provide tentative support for the appropriateness of a component additive approach to enactments, as described in butler and gardners developmental model. 1In the execution of this research, the analyses, and the write-up, each co-author contributed uniquely and equally. Order of authorship as listed on the publication is alphabetical, but no primacy or hierarchy of authorship is implied.

An attachment primer for couple therapists: research and clinical implications.

According to attachment theory, humans are relational beings and even a childs earliest experiences with caregivers have a profound effect on emotional development and an overall approach to relationships. With increasing regularity, couple therapy has utilized attachment language as a conceptual tool, but more work is needed to understand the full clinical implications of attachment theory. These include understanding the intergenerational nature of attachment and adapting the delivery, timing, and pace of interventions to client attachment strategies. In this article, we summarize the origins of attachment theory, its measurement, the role of attachment in couple relationships, attachment stability and change, and ways that attachment informs therapy process and intervention. We hope that this article will provide an impetus for couple therapists to expand their conceptualization and use of attachment in their clinical work and for couple researchers to conduct more clinically relevant, attachment-oriented process research.

Emotional congruence within couple interaction: the role of attachment avoidance.

Attachment strategies refer to the conscious representations individuals make of their relationships, including the level of perceived comfort and safety that relationships offer during distressing times. From early in life, some individuals learn the coping strategy of attachment avoidance. When distressed, these individuals shut down emotionally and seek to mask what they are feeling. This represents incongruence between emotional experience and expression. Yet congruence is an important part of interpersonal relationships. In addition, incongruence has been identified as a core aspect of repressive coping, about which research has identified several potential long-term health risks. In this study, we examined the relationship between attachment avoidance and congruence between what individuals experience physiologically and what they report. A total of 63 couples completed the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998) and participated in a seminatural couple interaction and an interaction with a therapist/coach. Using dyadic data analysis and multilevel modeling, we found that, while avoidance was not associated with elevated skin conductance, it was indeed associated with greater incongruence between skin conductance and reports of feelings toward ones partner. Whereas individuals lower in attachment avoidance were likely to report more negative feelings toward their partners in the context of psychophysiological distress, those higher in attachment avoidance were more likely to report positive feelings toward their partners. We discuss implications of this incongruence and its potential to adversely influence individual and relationship health. We also discuss some important clinical considerations when working to increase emotional congruence.

Couple emotional experience: effects of attachment anxiety in low and high structure couple interactions

This study used data from 63 heterosexual couples to investigate the effects of attachment anxiety and how they relate to emotional experience (i.e. psychophysiological distress and feelings towards a partner) in the context of two therapy-like conditions (low and high structure). We examined both the effect of an individuals anxiety on his/her own emotional experience (actor effects) and on the partners experience (partner effects). During both interactional conditions, female partners of men higher in attachment anxiety experienced greater psychophysiological distress. In addition, men and women higher in attachment anxiety were not significantly different from others in terms of their feelings towards their partner during the low structure condition. However, their feelings were significantly more positive than others during the high structure condition, providing some evidence that attachment-based interventions can be especially useful for clients higher in attachment anxiety. Practitioner points Not only should therapists take into account couple distress and volatility when facilitating couple interaction, but they should also account for self-reported attachment Clients high in attachment anxiety may benefit from the emotional containment provided by having a therapist buffer the couple interaction Clients high in attachment anxiety may especially benefit from therapy process that is anchored in facilitating attachment-based expression

Does Religious Motivation Influence the Conceptualization and Acceptability of Forgiveness as a Therapeutic Intervention

This study addresses a gap in the research related to understanding how religious motivation (both extrinsic and intrinsic) relates to attitudes towards forgiveness as a therapeutic intervention. Our findings provide evidence that intrinsic religious motivation was associated with acceptability of forgiveness framed as a spiritual issue and overall, while extrinsic-social religious motivation was not associated with acceptance of forgiveness intervention framed in any way. Extrinsic–personal religious motivation was associated with greater acceptability of forgiveness framed as a spiritual issue, but it was also related to the misconception of forgiveness as relationship reconciliation. Implications for MFTs are discussed.

The Role of Sexual Communication in Couples’ Sexual Outcomes: A Dyadic Path Analysis

In a study of 142 couples, we gathered survey data to show how sexual communication influences sexual and relationship satisfaction as well as sexual and orgasm frequency. In two dyadic data path analyses, we observed the significant paths of influence that sexual communication has on sexual and relationship satisfaction, as well as sexual and orgasm frequency. Our findings revealed greater amounts of sexual communication were associated with increased orgasm frequency in women and greater relationship and sexual satisfaction in both sexes. We also observed important differences in the associations of sexual communication and general communication on satisfaction levels. With these analyses, we expand the current literature to broaden our understanding of the role that sexual communication plays in committed relationships.

The Systemic Interaction of Attachment on Psychophysiological Arousal in Couple Conflict

Attachment in adult romantic relationships has long been linked to conflict styles. Psychophysiological measures have provided additional insight into this association by accessing less conscious and controlled responses to conflict. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and the interaction between attachment styles on skin conductance responses during conflict and recovery from conflict. Using dyadic analysis of 50 heterosexual couples, we found evidence of a systemic effect of attachment, where psychophysiological arousal increased when one partner had higher levels of attachment anxiety and the other partner had higher levels of attachment avoidance. Attachment avoidance was also negatively associated with increased levels of arousal. Relationship and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Anger Can Help: A Transactional Model and Three Pathways of the Experience and Expression of Anger

Anger is a significant human emotion with far-reaching implications for individuals and relationships. We propose a transactional model of anger that highlights its relational relevance and potentially positive function, in addition to problematic malformations. By evolutionary design, physical, self-concept, or attachment threats all similarly trigger diffuse physiological arousal, psychologically experienced as anger-emotion. Anger is first a signaling and motivational system. Anger is then formed to affirming, productive use or malformed to destructive ends. A functional, prosocial approach to anger organizes it for protective and corrective personal and relational adaptation. In our model, threat perception interacts with a persons view of self in relation to other to produce helpful or harmful anger. Inflated or collapsed views of self in relation to other produce distinct manifestations of destructive anger that are harmful to self, other, and relationship. Conversely, a balanced view of self in relation to other promotes constructive anger and catalyzes self, other, and relationship healing. Clinical use of the model to shape healing personal and relational contact with anger is explored.

Anger Can Help: Clinical Representation of Three Pathways of Anger

ABSTRACT Anger is a powerful emotion prevalent in therapy. An integrative model situating varied manifestations of anger within a purposive context of healing and repair following relationship trauma is needed. A first paper (Butler, Meloy-Miller, Seedall, & Dicus, 2017) approached anger as a psychological and relational construction of diffuse physiological arousal and provided a conceptual model of how the experience of offense interacts with a persons view of self in relation to other (VSIRO) in the formation of anger. Three resulting trajectories and pathways of anger were outlined. Here we provide clinical representations of these pathways—two pathways of hostile anger arising from pathogenic VSIROs (inflated, with accompanying externalizing anger, and collapsed, with accompanying internalizing anger), and a third pathway of benevolent anger, arising from a balanced VSIRO. Clinical application of the model through several vignettes illuminates its use in discriminating helpful from harmful pathways of anger and developing interventions for reshaping pathogenic anger to beneficent anger.