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Rational divorce counseling

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There have always been many things you can do short of actually ending an unhappy marriage—buying a house, having an affair, and having a baby are the most common, I suppose. Nora Ephron,Heartburn

Abstract

Although most couples' problems are brought to “marriage” counselors, a great percentage of these marriages, treated or not, will end in divorce. In this article, the importance of the role of the therapist's values and attitudes about divorce is stressed as a significant ingredient in the therapy on this difficult decision. A number of the tasks of RET divorce counseling are reviewed, including helping the individual(s) decide whether to remain married or divorce, reviewing their perceptions for distortions of data and their cognitions for distortions of evaluation or reasoning,and helping them to implement the decision, survive the aftermath, and work out a changed relationship with the exspouse.

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Walen, S.R., Bass, B.A. Rational divorce counseling. J Rational-Emot Cognitive-Behav Ther 4, 95–109 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01073483

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01073483

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