Understanding and Treating Depression in Couples

Current couples approaches to the treatment of depression show considerable promise but also room for improvement. Conjoint approaches that are efficacious may not benefit the majority of depressed persons in intimate relationships in the community. Depressed persons whose partners refuse to participate in therapy highlight the need for individual treatments that can enhance marital functioning without relying on a conjoint format. Depressed persons who report marital satisfaction highlight the need for ways to focus on the dyad without implying the relationship is distressed. Developing a more flexible set of options for implementing treatment with a marital focus seems important.(C) 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.