ABSTRACT
Expectations are crucial to assess and modify in couple therapy, as they are the standards by which marriage is judged as satisfying or dissatisfying. Changing one’s mythical expectations of a partner, self, or marriage may be more fruitful in marital therapy than trying to convince a partner to change to meet mythical expectations. The therapist can assess a couple’s belief in these myths in two ways: the therapist will likely hear a partner state one of these myths or expectations in a therapy session; or the therapist can give a couple a quiz on the myths and score it with them, followed by debunking the myths. Debunking involves providing an alternative, more realistic belief for each myth. Debunking encourages the couple to discuss the myth’s validity, better understand its truth, and see the benefits of substituting an alternative for the myth.
