The Cultural Context Model: How Does it Facilitate Couples’ Therapeutic Change?

This study examines how therapeutic change in couples is facilitated in the Cultural Context Model based on the model's identified family processes: critical consciousness, empowerment, and accountability. Participants included four female therapists and three couples who sought treatment voluntarily, two heterosexual couples, and one lesbian couple with diverse class and ethnic backgrounds who had spent at least 12 months receiving services at the Institute for Family Services and who were compliant with treatment. Videotaped sessions were analyzed by coding descriptive data using a constant comparative analysis method. An analysis of therapeutic interventions and clients' changes showed that the model works in four realms: conversational, behavioral, ritual, and community building.