ABSTRACT
It is incumbent upon clinicians to do something with the couples who seek assistance from them, despite the lack of definitive experimental evidence in support of any marital therapy strategy. As responsible representatives of the mental health professions, we are ethically bound to obey the directives of objective investigation in clinical practice. Although the inclusion of scientific methodology in one’s clinical practice will be somewhat costly, it is the only way that a clinician can receive accurate feedback about his/her effectiveness. Couples can continue their recording throughout therapy, and as a result they receive constant feedback on their progress as does the therapist. The therapist’s ingenuity comes into play both in opera-tionalizing couples’ complaints in terms that can be recorded and in prompting their compliance with the recording assignments. The tendency of therapists is to tacitly encourage the maintenance of relationships or advise couples on the basis of their own values rather than professional expertise.
