Skip to main content

Relationship Enhancement® Enrichment Program

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy

Name of Model

Relationship Enhancement® Enrichment Program

Introduction

Relationship Enhancement® (RE; Guerney 1977) is a family therapy with underpinnings from specific theoretical orientations that equally inform the therapy. These theories include Carl Rogers’s client-centered, Bandura’s social learning, Skinner’s operant conditioning, Sullivan’s interpersonal, and psychodynamic approaches to psychotherapy (Scuka 2005). In addition, the therapy integrates family systems and communications theory (Ginsberg 2004). RE’s cornerstones are heavily influenced by Carl Rogers and consist of human emotion, the essence of healing, and empathy, the key therapeutic tool for accessing feelings and affecting client healing and change (Scuka 2005). A core feature of RE therapy is its psychoeducational model of family change that helps individuals learn skills to solve their own problems. RE promotes authentic empowerment from an educational model, rather than focusing on pathology from a medical...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 799.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 999.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Accordino, M. P., & Guerney, B. G., Jr. (2003). Relationship enhancement couples and family outcome research of the last 20 years. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 11(2), 162–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480702250146.

  • Cavedo, C., & Guerney, B. G., Jr. (2013). Relationship enhancement® enrichment and problem-prevention programs: Therapy-derived, powerful, versatile. In R. Berger & M. T. Hannah (Eds.), Preventive approaches in couples therapy (pp. 1–410). Philadelphia: Brunner/Mazel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ginsberg, B. G. (1995). Parent-adolescent relationship program (PARD): Relationship enhancement therapy with adolescents and their families (fathers and sons). Special Issue: Adolescent Treatment: New Frontiers and New Dimensions, 32(1), 108–112. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.32.1.108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ginsberg, B. G. (2004). Relationship enhancement family therapy. Doylestown: Relationship Enhancement Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ginsberg, B. G., & Vogelsong, E. L. (1977). Premarital relationship improvement by maximizing empathy and self-disclosure: The PRIMES program. In B. G. Guerney Jr. (Ed.), Relationship enhancement: Skill-training for therapy, problem prevention, and enrichment (pp. 227–267). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guerney, B., Jr. (1964). Filial therapy: Description and rationale. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 28(4), 304–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0041340.

  • Guerney, B. G., Jr. (1977). Relationship enhancement: Skill-training programs for therapy, problem prevention, and enrichment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guerney, B. G., Jr. (2003). Foreword. In R. VanFleet & L. F. Guerney (Eds.), Casebook of filial therapy (pp. ix–xi). Boiling Springs: Play Therapy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guerney, B. G., Jr., Coufal, J., & Vogelsong, E. (1981). Relationship enhancement versus a traditional approach to therapeutic/preventative/enrichment parent-adolescent programs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 49(6), 927–939. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.49.6.927.

  • Guerney, B. G., Jr. (1982). Relationship Enhncement. In E.K. Marshall & P.D. Kurtz (Eds.), Interpersonal Helping Skills (pp. 482–518). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakubowski, S. F., Milne, E. P., Brunner, H., & Miller, R. B. (2004). A review of empirically supported marital enrichment programs. Family Relations, 53(5), 528–536. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0197-6664.2004.00062.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, M. V. (2016). Couple therapy when one spouse has cancer: Integration of EMDR and relationship enhancement therapies. Special Issue on EMDR Therapy and Psycho-Oncology., 10(3), 208–214. https://doi.org/10.1891/1933-3196.10.3.208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scuka, R. (2005). Relationship Enhancement therapy: Healing through deep empathy and intimate dialogue, New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scuka, R. F. (2012). Repairing a relationship imperiled by infidelity: Combining individual work, relationship enhancement® couple therapy and guided visualization to break through an emotional impasse. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 27(4), 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2012.735768.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scuka, R. F. (2016). Relationship enhancement program and mastering the mysteries of love. In J. Ponzetti Jr. (Ed.), Evidence-based approaches to relationship and marriage education (pp. 165–179). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, M. (2000). The loss and recovery of erotic intimacy in primary relationships: Narrative therapy and relationship enhancement therapy. The Family Journal, 8(1), 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480700081006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, M., & Guerney, B. G., Jr. (1998). The power of shared subjectivity: Revitalizing intimacy through relationship enhancement couples therapy. In J. Carlson & L. Sperry (Eds.), The intimate couple (pp. 359–380). Ann Arbor: Edwards Brothers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tompkins, S. A., Roeder, J. A., Thomas, J. J., & Koch, K. K. (2013). Effectivness of a relationship encichment program for couples living with multiple sclerosis. International Journal of MS Care, 15(1), 27–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Topham, G. L., & VanFleet, R. (2011). Filial therapy: A structured and straightforward approach to including young children in family therapy. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 32(2), 144–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Topham, G. L., Wampler, K. S., Titus, G., & Rolling, E. (2011). Predicting parent and child outcomes of a filial therapy program. International Journal of Play Therapy, 20(2), 79–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • VanFleet, R., & Guerney, L. F. (Eds.). (2003). Casebook of filial therapy. Boiling Springs: Play Therapy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • VanFleet, R., Ryan, S. D., & Smith, S. K. (2005). Filial therapy: A critical review. In L. A. Reddy, T. M. Files-Hall, & C. E. Schaefer (Eds.), Empirically-based play interventions for children (pp. 241–264). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Courtney Horwath .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Horwath, C., Yatsushiro, K., VanFleet, R., Gifford, V. (2019). Relationship Enhancement® Enrichment Program. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_373

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics