ABSTRACT
During the past 25 years of providing psychological services to older adults and their families in hospital-based clinics and out-patient private practice settings, I have rarely encountered late-life couples who seek therapy for the primary purpose of improving their relationship. Other psychologists have echoed this same experience (Rosowsky, 1999 ). However, I have frequently recommended short-term therapy for longmarried couples as part of a treatment intervention for coping with memory impairment or mitigating depressive symptoms in one or both of the spouses. As Qualls ( 1993 ) noted, therapy for adjustment to a crisis or transition in late life is a common path leading to couples’ therapy.
