ABSTRACT
This chapter defines the role of a behavior therapist working with couples. It presents four ways of defining this role. First, the therapist can view himself as one who applies certain techniques, such as communication training and contingency contracting, to relationship discord. Second, the therapist can be thought of as using principles derived from general psychology in devising treatment programs for distressed couples. Third, the behavior therapist can define himself by his method, and thereby consider his task one of providing a functional analysis of relationship complaints. Fourth, the therapist can be somewhat arbitrary, and opera-tionalize his role by defining behavior therapy as a set of themes which, regardless of the specific techniques used, are consistently applied to the treatment of relationship difficulties. Despite many practical similarities between behavior therapy and other approaches, the behavioral exchange model does lead to some fundamental distinctions.
