The Marriage Checkup:
An Indicated Preventive Intervention for Treatment-Avoidant
Couples at Risk for Marital Deterioration
Córdova, J. V., Scott, R. L., Dorian, M., Mirgain, S., Yaeger, D., & Groot, A. (2005) The marriage checkup: A motivational interviewing approach to the promotion of marital health with couples at-risk for relationship deterioration. Behavior Therapy, 36, 301–309.
Posted by permission of ABCT Publications.
Abstract
Prior to dissolution, it is likely that couples that become severely
distressed first pass through an at-risk stage in which
they experience early symptoms of marital deterioration
but have not yet suffered irreversible damage to their marriage.
It is during this “at-risk” stage when couples might
benefit most from early intervention. In response to this
need we have developed an indicated intervention program
called the Marriage Checkup (MC) based on the principles
of motivational interviewing. The current randomized
study provides preliminary evidence for the attractiveness,
tolerability, efficacy, and mechanisms of change of the MC.
Full text (PDF)