The family development approach : A program for coping with transitional crises

The following advantages have emerged from this experience. First, the program offter a meaningful supplement or alternative to traditional methods od preparation for marriage. Second, groups have been conducted in a number of differentsettings-churches, university continuing education divisions, cmmunity centers-since the programs educational orientation frees it from exclusive use in therapeutic settings. Trird, as experience was gained with premarital groups, the UNITE program was extended to couples at other stages (during marriage or in anticipation of remarriage) and found to be beneficial. UNITE is a structured, educational program for couples which attempts to do three things: first, increase each partners awareness of self and his contribution to interaction within significant relaionshisp; second, increase each partners skill in effetively expressing this own self-information-that is, making this self-awareness available to his or her partner; and third, enhance each partners sense of choice within the relationship for maintaining or changing ways of relating in mutually satisfying ways (AU)