A Clinician’s Guide to Maintaining and Enhancing Close Relationships

In the past 10 years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of theoretical and empirical investigations into the maintenance and enhancement of close, romantic relationships. This literature targets the everyday behaviors, expressions of love, and cognitive styles that characterize such relationships. Chapters provide a sampling of the expanse of topics in the domain of how clinical scholars and practitioners address the timely topic of maintaining and enhancing close romantic relationships, including marriage. A distinguished group of scholars and therapists discuss specific problems, such as alcoholism and therapeutic interventions, such as insight therapy. Topics include maintenance issues relevant to: depression, anxiety disorders, the role of children in affecting close relationships, how premarital therapy may serve as an antidote to early relationship problems, forgiveness, remarriage issues, and peer marriage. This volume is intended for practitioners in the field of close romantic relationships, such as marriage, family and relationship therapists, and clinicians.