ABSTRACT
This chapter encourages couples to hold their own weekly therapy sessions at home, after treatment has ended. These sessions, prearranged and held at the same time each week, are essentially maintenance meetings, where couples assess the status of the relationship, and deal with any new problems that have emerged, hopefully, by using the problem-solving skills discussed in the chapter. The chapter discusses procedures for training couples in communication skills, ignoring the content of the skills that are taught. It considers a variety of skills which can be taught to couples. The chapter provides an extended discussion of problem-solving training, organized around a training manual which we have used with couples. It elaborates on the clinical strategies which we use to train couples in a wide variety of communication and problem-solving skills. The chapter concludes with a brief outline of communication training in groups.
