Marriage or family therapy

Abstract

This paper reviews the differences between family therapy and marriage counseling in terms of professional organization, theory and practice. Why the field of therapy has not been influenced by the focus on marriage is examined. The dyad does not seem to be a conceptual unit on which theory can be built. Considering the wider social network, the family therapist views the marital dyad as one of a variety of subgroups within the family network. Training in marriage therapy does not appear to be adequate for doing therapy with families. The admission of the categories of marriage and family therapists to the existing clinical professions multiplies the problems of training and credentializa-tion in the field. The goal of the therapy field should be more consensus in theory and a single profession of therapists.