Cumulative childhood trauma (CCT) can lead to long-lasting consequences, such as difficulties in emotion regulation, which, in turn, can affect romantic relationships. While problems with emotion regulation are associated with poorer relationship outcomes, few studies have examined these associations among couples seeking relationship psychotherapy, despite an estimated 80% of individuals in such psychotherapy having experienced CCT. The present study investigated the intermediary role of emotion regulation difficulties in the association between CCT and relationship distress in 199 couples seeking relationship psychotherapy. Path analysis revealed both a direct and an indirect association between one's CCT and one's relationship distress, through difficulties in emotion regulation. This study highlights the need for further investigation into the mechanisms underlying the consequences of CCT on romantic partnerships.

This study explores the experiences of Black mental health clinicians navigating double consciousness through a theoretical synthesis of W.E.B. Du Bois' double consciousness, Frantz Fanon's racial inferiority complex, and Cross's Black racial identity development theory. The focus of this study was how dual awareness manifests through racial subjectivity within the professional context for Black clinicians. Furthermore, the study explored the various ways double consciousness influences Black mental health clinicians' interactions during academic learning, professional training, within clinical settings, encounters with professors, clients, supervisors, and colleagues. The results of the data analysis of 12 semi-structured interviews with Black therapists revealed main themes such as perceived inferiority, marginalization of Black therapist experience, authenticity and identity navigation, and mistrust and suspicion about being a Black therapist. Recommendations for the self of the therapist, supervision, and academic training programs are discussed.

Equality in marriage is an important element of healthy relationships. Religious marriages differ from those of non-religious or religiously ambiguous individuals. How religious couples experience equality in marriage is an understudied process. A grounded theory design was used to understand how Latter-day Saint couples experience marital power sharing. Thirty-one participants (fifteen opposite sex couples and one wife) participated in 46 interviews where they discussed their marital dynamics, especially surrounding their perceived influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and power sharing. Four interrelated processes surfaced from these interviews: interacting influences (one's family of origin, the Church, and culture), self-in-relationship (including one's self-concept, self-awareness, examination of beliefs, and healing and reconciliation), relational processes (including taking relational responsibility, balancing relational influence, attuning to one's partner, and engaging in emotional exposure), and identity formation ("we" vs. "me"). Implications and applications for clinical practice are discussed.

Military couples face unique relational challenges, including deployments, relocations, and extended separations, which can negatively impact relationship well-being. The Adventures in Marriage (AIM) program aims to enhance relationship functioning by focusing on couple interactions through a structured, skills-based curriculum in a time-efficient and accessible format that addresses the challenges faced by military couples. The purpose of the current study was to examine military couples' relationship functioning and relationship deployment readiness after attending the AIM program. A total of 302 different-sex military couples completed pre- and post-program surveys. Using Latent Change Score Modeling (LCSM), the results indicated significant increases in both wives' and husbands' relationship functioning and relationship deployment readiness following participation in the AIM program. Improvements in relationship functioning were associated with improvements in relationship deployment readiness at both individual and dyadic levels. The implications underscore the importance of integrating programs like AIM into military family services.

S. Thorpe, K. E. Vigil, B. Duroseau, P. Iyiewuare, N. Malone, J. N. Dogan-Dixon, J. Ross, "Superwoman Schema and Relationship Satisfaction Among Black Women in the United States: The Mediating Role of Relationship Attachment," Journal of Marital and Family Therapy 51, no. 3 (2025): e70036, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jmft.70036. The above article, published online on 27 May 2025 on Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) has been retracted by agreement between the Editor-in-Chief, Lenore M. McWey, the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, the authors, and Wiley Periodicals LLC. A third party reported that a number of references in this article were either incorrect or nonexistent. Further investigation confirmed that a significant number of references were either incorrect or nonexistent. All parties have determined that the large number of incorrect references constitutes a major error and leaves significant portions of the article unsubstantiated. This retraction has been agreed to because these errors in the references fundamentally compromise the content of the article.

Attachment-based family therapy (ABFT) is an evidence-based systemic treatment for adolescent depression and suicidality. The first session focuses on shifting therapy goals from behavior management to relational repair. This study explores whether making this shift is associated with adolescent treatment outcomes. First-session recordings from an ABFT randomized controlled trial were coded for shifts in content (from an individual to a relational understanding of symptoms) and affect (from defensive to vulnerable emotions or hopefulness). Greater maternal responsivity to the relational reframe and stronger maternal acceptance of the relational contract were associated with greater reductions in adolescents' depressive symptoms. In contrast, adolescent scores on these measures were not associated with depressive symptom change, and although suicidal ideation decreased in the overall study, neither adolescent nor maternal scores on these measures predicted changes in suicidal ideation. Findings suggest that early maternal engagement with the relational focus of ABFT may be an indicator of subsequent improvement in adolescent depression.

This study focuses on marital satisfaction, a key concept often used to assess happiness and stability in a marriage. The main goal of this study was to explore the mediating processes linking experiences in the family of origin to marital satisfaction. A total of 357 married individuals participated in the research. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing marital satisfaction, family-of-origin experiences, and dysfunctional relational beliefs. The study's model was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The mediation analysis suggests that experiences in the family of origin may play a role in shaping marital satisfaction through dysfunctional relationship beliefs. The results indicated that married individuals who experienced dysfunctional family-of-origin experiences reported lower marital satisfaction if they also held dysfunctional relationship beliefs. This highlights the importance of addressing dysfunctional relationship beliefs in married couples to minimize the influence of negative family experiences on their marital relationships.

Research has yet to clarify the relational mechanisms through which communicated perspective-taking (CPT) during conflict relates to overall relationship satisfaction, and prior studies have largely overlooked its dynamic and interactive nature, often examining partners' contributions separately. To address these gaps, this study employed an observational dyadic design to examine, in a sample of 178 young adult couples, the unique and joint contributions of partners' CPT during conflict to their relationship satisfaction, as well as the role of positive relational experience during conflict in these associations. Results showed that an individual's CPT was positively associated with their own and their partner's relationship satisfaction, through both their own and their partner's greater positive relational experience during the conflict discussion. Partners' CPT also interacted in association with relational experience and relationship satisfaction. Findings underscore the potential role of positive relational experience and the inherently dyadic and interactive nature of CPT within couple interactions.

The Satir Model (SM) is an experiential and systemic approach increasingly used across clinical and community contexts. Although research shows benefits for emotional resilience, self‑esteem, communication, and family functioning, no synthesis has examined how SM is described as a transformational systemic therapy. This review followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines and identified 21 eligible studies from 5923 records. Using thematic synthesis, four interconnected domains of change were identified: intrapersonal processes (emotional regulation, self‑worth, coherence), relational and systemic processes (communication, attunement, boundary reorganization), experiential somatic mechanisms (sculpting, imagery, movement), and meaning‑ and identity‑level transformation (narrative reframing, existential clarity, cultural meaning). Together, these findings position SM as a holistic and culturally adaptable approach that facilitates multilayered change beyond symptom reduction. Future research should strengthen methodological rigor, operationalize core constructs, and examine long‑term and cross‑cultural outcomes.

This special issue brings together 11 theoretical, quantitative, and qualitative articles that apply a strength-based, liberatory framework to systemic therapy with people of color. Collectively, the authors reconceptualize the meaning and treatment of a range of presenting problems, critically interrogate selected ethical and legal mandates, broaden the application of systemic thinking, and offer guidance for training the next generation of systemic professionals.

Effective couple interventions, such as Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy and the Relationship Checkup, include the labeling of common relationship patterns. This study hypothesized that a micro-intervention using nature metaphors, such as "Porcupine-Turtle," would produce greater improvements in relationship health relative to descriptive labels such as "Approach-Withdraw." Twenty-five couples were presented with nature metaphor patterns, while 24 couples were presented with descriptive patterns. Several measures of relationship health showed significant improvements across both groups, while other measures showed significant improvements for descriptive patterns only. Generally, nature metaphor patterns were initially rated as more novel and more resonant. Broadly, these results add support for the effectiveness of relationship pattern labeling. The effectiveness of nature metaphor patterns may be improved if introduced with more guidance to help couples capitalize on initial, stronger senses of resonance.

Mindfulness has well-documented benefits for mental, physical, and relational health. However, research about the role of mindfulness in health has scarcely explored interpersonal mindfulness, a distinct type of mindfulness expressed externally and relationally in interpersonal interactions. Mindfulness is known to be beneficial in romantic relationships but has been underexplored to date. A new interpersonal mindfulness construct known as "mindful partnering" (MP) presents a comprehensive application of interpersonal mindfulness to romantic relationships. This study advances research on MP by providing an improved conceptualization of the construct and an observational coding scheme, the Ratings of Observed Mindful Partnering (ROMP) system. Results showed that the ROMP has strong interrater reliability at the level of suggested analysis, supporting the idea that interpersonal mindfulness is observable, and initial tests of validity indicated convergent validity of this measurement tool for the MP construct. We suggest that this tool is potentially useful for clinicians and future research.

Reintegration after military deployment is often viewed as an individual process, though it occurs in family systems. Black veterans remain underrepresented in reintegration research, particularly in studies focusing on relational trust and racialized stress. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) revealed four interrelated themes: presence, communication, racial identity, and family role negotiation. Findings indicate that trust was built through everyday relational processes rather than immediate emotional disclosure, and racial identity served as both a resource and a strain. These findings highlight trust as a relational process shaped by family dynamics and sociocultural contexts, extending reintegration literature.

This study investigated queer therapists' perceptions of police bias and attitudes toward police. We used a mixed-methods explanatory approach by administering the Perceptions of Police Scale (POPS) to mental health professionals and conducted follow-up qualitative interviews with participants who identify with a queer sexuality to explore the factors influencing their perceptions of police and the ways in which they view and utilize reliance on police when a client is experiencing a mental health crisis. Quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS using correlations and t-tests to assess the relationship between sexuality and perceptions of police scores. Sexuality significantly correlated with perceptions of the police, meaning queer therapists viewed the police less favorably compared to heterosexual participants. A qualitative analysis using reflexive thematic analysis revealed seven themes that address how queer therapists perceive police and strategies utilized to decide if calling 911 for a client in crisis would be lifesaving or life-threatening.