Essential ingredients of couple therapy an exploratory study of factors that support therapeutic work with couples

Abstract

This qualitative study sought to investigate the factors that support therapeutic work in couple therapy in Malta. Previous literature abroad has highlighted several factors that contribute to effective results in couple therapy. These include changing dysfunctional behaviour, goal setting, nurturing, acceptance and the therapist’s skills. However this is limited research that focuses on the therapist’s own positioning and factors associated with the couple. Five couple therapists were interviewed for the purpose of this research. Thematic Analysis was used to analyse the data and extract prominent themes. The emerging themes pointed out to a number of common ingredients that support therapeutic work with couples. These can be grouped into factors that pertain to the therapeutic process, factors that belong to the couple, and factors associated with the therapist. The findings also concurred with the results of previous research on couple therapy, suggesting that integrative approaches are perceived to lead to more effective outcomes in couple therapy. Based on the findings, the study has implications for counsellor training and supervision, the use of cotherapy, the increase in the provision of free couple therapy service.