Treating External Factors
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
American Politician
Couples are impacted by many external factors that may negatively affect their system. Couples are impacted by common life stage transitions (e.g., children introduced to the system by birth or adoption, empty nests when children become adults, blended families), as well as uncommon life events such as infidelity, substance use, financial challenges, gambling problems. When working with couples it is important to remain aware of any external factors the couple is experiencing to help understand the impact on the dyad.
For this Discussion, search the Walden Library for an article that discusses treating couples where an external factor noted above has negatively impacted the couple to the point they are considering divorce.
Post an analysis of the article you found. In the analysis, identify which theory was utilized to treat this issue. Then, discuss if the treatment was effective or ineffective in helping the couple work through the issue. Finally, explain whether or not you believe there is some other intervention that would be beneficial for this situation.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the resources.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.
BY DAY 6
Respond to two of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:
- Ask a probing question.
- Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
- Offer and support an opinion.
- Make a suggestion.
- Expand on your colleague’s posting.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
Colleague 1: Marcus
Post an analysis of the article you found. In the analysis, identify which theory was utilized to treat this issue. Then, discuss if the treatment was effective or ineffective in helping the couple work through the issue.
Hello Everyone,
We are more than halfway through our semester. The article that I am focusing on is pornography addiction and relationship anxiety. Pornography addiction and relationship anxiety can cause issues in marriages and couples who are in courtship. Individuals who engage in pornography are often struggling with low self-esteem and use it for self-gratification especially if they are not satisfied sexually with their spouse. Some individuals who engage in internet pornography may also struggle with depression. One study from Leonhardt et al., (2018) reports that lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of depression are heavily associated with the reasons individuals are addicted to internet pornography. While others use pornography to help them express their sexuality and for erotic experience (Leonhardt et al., 2018). The article that I found is exploring different studies of research to understand the perceptions of pornography addiction from religiosity and those who have struggled with relationship anxiety. Religiosity perception of pornography addiction may make individuals feel ashamed and experience the negative outcomes of the perceptions which cause an increase in relationship anxiety and depression according to research studies. Leonhardt et al., (2018) also reported that relationship anxiety construct of surrounding anxiety and perception that society has on pornography that brings discomfort to the individual which can affect their self-esteem. The identified theory from this article is called “Sexual addiction theory” which was originally coined by Patrick Carnes (1983). The perception of addiction in terms of this article is referring to compulsivity and distress surrounding pornography (Leonhardt et al., 2018). The understanding of the perception of pornography addiction and the moral disapproval of religiosity surrounding the addiction can help couples identify the spouse who is addicted that they may have relationship anxiety in their marriage or courtship. The growing research studies on the compulsivity and distress from porn addicts’ behavior may be a psychological condition known as hypersexual Disorder or sexual addiction in the relationship. From a clinical perspective, individuals with a pornography addiction that is out of control may have sexual compulsive behavior, distress because it affects their relationships a great deal and commitments in their lives, which can cause relationship anxiety and depression. The person may experience discomfort and communication anxiety with their partner or spouse because they feel ashamed of their addiction.
Finally, explain whether or not you believe there is some other intervention that would be beneficial for this situation.
Mindfulness meditation can aid in managing sexual fantasies, urges, and compulsive behavior. Mindfulness meditation is effective at reducing anxiety for couples who are struggling with pornography addiction and the discomfort from each other when the partner or spouse is struggling with helping each other recover from the addiction. According to Dickinson et al., (2017), “Mindfulness programs are effective in reducing anxiety in populations with chronic disorders” (p.1044). The researcher from this article reported using Mindfulness-meditation to help individuals with anxiety and other cognitive distortions/processes with Aphasia and their study have shown the effectiveness of Mindfulness-meditation at work-study. Mindfulness exercises are to help the porn addict to focus on the here and now from a non-judgmental approach and they are being aware of the cognitive processes of their sexual thoughts, urges, and fantasies so they can learn how to control those thoughts during the training (Dickinson et al., 2017). The mindfulness meditation will be beneficial for that spouse or partner struggling with sexually compulsive behaviors and hypersexuality when desiring to watch porn, they can use these skills to control those cravings and urges to watch porn when their spouse is not around.
References:
Dickinson, J., Friary, P., & McCann, C. M. (2017). The influence of mindfulness meditation on communication and anxiety: A case study of a person with aphasia. Aphasiology, 31(9), 1044–1058. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/02687038.2016.123458
Leonhardt, N. D., Willoughby, B. J., & Young-Petersen, B. (2018). Damaged Goods: Perception of Pornography Addiction as a Mediator Between Religiosity and Relationship Anxiety Surrounding Pornography Use. Journal of Sex Research, 55(3), 357–368. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/00224499.2017.1295013
Colleague 2:Tomeka
An analysis of the article you found.
The article focus on depression specifically and its relationship to infidelity in relationships. Daines (2006, p.48) defines infidelity as “interactions in a relationship in which at least one of the people engaging in it understands there to be a violation of agreed or implicit sexual and/or emotional boundaries within their couple relationship” (2017). As a way of initiating relationships, Facebook has become a vital part of it (, 2017). Facebook use and depression have shown a significant link between each other per empirical research (, 2017). According to the article I found, “More than half of all couples in therapy have some form of infidelity in their past, and approximately 25% of all couples present in couple therapy with infidelity as a primary concern” (Gorman, et al., 2008, p40). “38% of the women who discovered their partners cheating became depressed within one month following their discovery, even though these women had no previous history of depression” (Gorman, et al., 2008, p40). Antidepressants have been used to help couples cope, but therapy was found to be more helpful without taking medication. (Gorman, et al., 2008). The therapist should be conscious of and evaluate for potential side effects of discouragement two or three presents with an embarrassing social issue such as infidelity (Gorman, et al., 2008). “In the case of infidelity, the betrayed partner often describes his or her pain as more unbearable than the loss of a partner through death” (Gorman, et al., 2008, P42).
In the analysis, identify which theory was utilized to treat this issue.
“Infidelity is not just another presenting problem that couples bring into therapy but the way it is treated can significantly impact the outcome of therapy” (Gorman, et al., p45). Traditional behavioral couple therapy (TBCT) and integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT) were utilized. An infidelity questionnaire was given to nineteen couples; Two-thirds of the couples received traditional behavioral couple therapy while the remainder received integrative behavioral couple therapy (Gorman, et al., 2008). “Findings suggest that couple therapy treatment is enormously helpful and that couples with infidelity in their relationships at pretest improved as a result of therapy, and at the end of therapy were indistinguishable from distressed couples who had not identified infidelity in their dyads” (Gorman, et al., 2008, p45).
Then, discuss if the treatment was effective or ineffective in helping the couple work through the issue.
Both therapies were found to be effective. Couple therapy in general is an effective treatment option for depression (Gorman, et al., 2008). Couple therapy seemed the most effective method for treating the couple’s relationship and recovering from the marital stressors of infidelity (Gorman, et al., 2008, p55). The relationship between couples improved using couple therapy (Gorman, et al., 2008). Therapies were found to be effective not only in the United States but in other cultures as well (Gorman, et al., 2008). Acceptance, tolerance, and change were three categories that an IBCT therapist found useful techniques under. As a primary intervention of acceptance, empathic joining around a problem is used (Gorman, et al., 2008). The goal that was accomplished was to make closeness among accomplices and advance the resilience of offensive practices (Gorman, et al., 2008). A technique called unified detachment was likewise used to help accomplices in removing themselves from their concern with the goal that it very well may be examined on a scholarly instead of enthusiastic level (Gorman, et al., 2008).
Finally, explain whether or not you believe there is some other intervention that would be beneficial for this situation.
As stated in the reading, couple therapy is always effective in treating couple relationships. Many other couple therapies could have been used that the article mentioned such as Conjoint Couple Therapy and Pharmacology, Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, Cognitive and Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy. The main thing is finding out as much information at the beginning of the session to determine which couple therapy would hopefully keep the couple engaged and be helpful when trying to resolve the main issues they have. For example, I would use emotionally focused couple therapy is offhand I realize the couple is dealing with conflict, distress, and/or poor communication.
Gorman, L., & Blow, A. (2008). Concurrent depression and infidelity: Background, strategies
for treatment, and future research. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 7(1),
39–58. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/153…
Gurman, A. S., Lebow, J. L., Snyder, D. K. (2015). Clinical handbook of couple therapy. New
York, NY: The Guilford Press.
(2017). When flirting turns into infidelity: The
Facebook dilemma. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 45:1, 1-
14,DOI: 10.1080/01926187.2016.1277804
