Resources for Providers

Practice Guidelines

Preventing Domestic Violence: Clinical Guidelines on Routine Screening
Information about screening for domestic violence by different provider types in different settings.

Treatment Improvement Protocol 39: Substance Abuse Treatmentand Family Therapy
The intent of the TIP is to help counselors and family therapists acquire a basic understanding of each others' fields and incorporate aspects of each others' work in substance abuse and family therapy.

Clinical Assessment Tools

Epstein and colleagues recommend a multidimensional approach to assessing marital problems using self-report questionnaires, interviews, and direct behavioral observation. Factors that should be assessed include:¹

• Partners' behaviors, including interactions with one another
• Partners' thoughts and feelings
• Partners' strengths
• Environmental factors
• Sources of marital problems
• Psychopathology
• Appropriateness of marital therapy (e.g., interest in therapy, domestic violence)

Handbook of Family Measurement Techniques

Clinician Administered Assessment Tools

A clinical interview can be used to follow-up on data obtained from self-report measures, relationship history, psychopathology, and other relevant variables. It is recommended that interviews are conducted with the couple together and each partner separately. Joint interviews can be used to observe how the couple interacts with one another, while more sensitive information can be obtained during individual interviews.

Family Observational Coding Systems: Resources for Systemic Research
P. K. Kerig & K. M. Lindahl

Couple Observational Coding Systems
P. K. Kerig & D. H. Baucom

Self-Report Assessment Tools

Dyadic Adjustment Scale
The DAS scale is a self-report measure of relationship adjustment.

Conflicts Tactics Scale Revised
The CTS scale measures both the extent to which partners in a dating,cohabiting, or marital relationship engage in psychological and physicalattacks on each other and also their use of reasoning or negotiation to deal with conflicts.

¹Epstein,n. B., Baucom, D. H., & LaTaillade, J. L. (in press). Marital problems. In J.E. Fisher & W. O'Donohue (Eds.), Practice Guidelines for Evidence Based Psychotherapy. New York: Kluwer Academic.

Clinician Administered Treatment Resources

According to the American Psychological Associations, Division 12, Society of Clinical Psychology, behavioral marital therapy has been well-established as a beneficial treatment for marital distress. Behavioral techniques are used to teach couples new and more effective marital behaviors, including communication skills, negotiation and problem-solving skills, and quid pro quo contracting. Some evidence also suggests that emotionally-focused couples therapy and insight oriented marital therapy are useful for treatment of marital distress.

The following treatment manuals are empirically supported:

• Behavioral Marital Therapy
  N. S. Jacobson & G. Margolin
• Cognitive-Behavioral Marital Therapy
  D. H Baucom & N. Epstein

Other Provider Resources:

Treating Difficult Couples
A training video offered by the American Psychological Association.

Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy
A. S. Gurman & N. S. Jacobson

The Marriage Clinic: A Scientifically-Based Marital Therapy
J. Gottman

Resources for Primary Care Providers

Helping Children and Families Deal With Divorce and Separation
Guideline produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Preventing Domestic Violence: Clinical Guidelines on Routine Screening
Information about screening for domestic violence framed for different types of providers in different settings.