Strategic hope-focused relationship-enrichment counseling with individual couples.

Abstract

Strategic hope-focused relationship enrichment is a brief, eclectic, research-based program to enhance couples' relationships. Couples (N = 51; 16 married, 24 cohabiting, 11 engaged) completed 5 sessions of enrichment counseling (n - 26) or 3 written assessments (n = 25) from 1 of 12 counselors. Couples receiving enrichment counseling had higher relationship satisfaction and quality-of-couple skills at posttest and at the 3-week follow-up than did written-assessment-only (control) couples. Conditions did not differ in terms of quality of overall attraction or 2 measures of commitment. We concluded that relationship enrichment using this program was effective, powerful, and cost-effective. Future research should focus on testing the effectiveness of the program presented in a group format. Couples often seek assistance from counseling psychologists to enrich their relationships, and these psychologists must not only intervene effectively but cost-effectively as well. Many relationship-enrichment programs have been proposed (for reviews, see Alexander, Holtzworth-Munroe, & Jameson, 1994; Guerney & Maxson, 1990; Zimpfer, 1988), and in most of these programs, couples meet in groups to discuss prescribed topics (e.g., the Association of Couples for Marriage Enrichment [ACME], Mace & Mace, 1984; Marriage Encounter, Calvo, 1975) or to learn and