Medical-Surgical Therapeutics Department, Nursing and Occupational Therapy College, University of Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain.
Universitat Ramon Llull, FPCEE Blanquerna, Psychology, Barcelona, Spain.
Fam Process. 2022 Dec;61(4):1403-1416. doi: 10.1111/famp.12727. Epub 2021 Oct 6.
We present The Couple's Tree of Life (CTOL) as a new collective narrative methodology to strengthen couple relationships and prevent conflicts. The CTOL, based on the tree of life methodology (Ncube & Denborough, Tree of Life, mainstreaming psychosocial care and support: a manual for facilitators, REPSSI, 2007), aims to reinforce the identity and strengths of the couple. We explain the CTOL implementation process and illustrate it step by step with a group of 14 adult heterosexual Caucasian couples who belonged to Protestant churches in Madrid (Spain). As a way to assess its usefulness before applying the CTOL to other groups of couples, we conducted a pre-post evaluation using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale of Spanier(1976). We found an improvement in dyadic adjustment, quality, understanding of, and satisfaction with, the relationship. The results, though not generalizable at this stage, suggest that the CTOL could reinforce the couple's identity while maintaining individual identities. We also discuss the possible applications of couples therapy.
我们提出了夫妻生命树（CTOL），作为一种新的集体叙事方法，以加强夫妻关系和预防冲突。CTOL 基于生命树方法（Ncube 和 Denborough，《生命之树》，主流化心理社会关怀和支持：促进者手册，REPSSI，2007），旨在加强夫妻的身份认同和优势。我们解释了 CTOL 的实施过程，并通过一组来自马德里（西班牙）新教教堂的 14 对成年异性恋白种人夫妇逐步加以说明。作为在将 CTOL 应用于其他夫妇群体之前评估其有用性的一种方式，我们使用 Spanier（1976）的对偶调整量表进行了前后评估。我们发现对偶调整、关系的质量、理解和满意度都有所提高。尽管在现阶段还不能推广，但结果表明 CTOL 可以在保持个人身份的同时加强夫妻的身份认同。我们还讨论了夫妻治疗的可能应用。
