Treating distressed couples with coexisting mental and physical disorders: directions for clinical training and practice

Abstract

Relationship difficulties frequently coexist with significant emotional, behavioral, and physical health problems in one or both partners. Moreover, couple therapists report individual emotional and behavioral disorders as among the most difficult problems that they encounter in clinical practice. In this article, we summarize empirical evidence regarding the association between relationship distress and the onset, course, and treatment of mental and physical health problems. Based on these findings, we propose five critical implications for clinical training and the practice of couple therapy.