A partnership learning program

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EPL - A partnership learning program is communication training for couples and serves to improve communication and mutual understanding in the couple relationship. The program is at the Institute for Research and Training in Communication Therapy e. V. was created with the support of the Bavarian State Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs, Family and Women, the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and the German Bishops' Conference . It has meanwhile found widespread use throughout the German-speaking area and in some other countries.

At the end of 2014 there were over 1,800 certified trainers. The EPL developed in the early 1990s is based on Howard Markman's Premarital Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) . The program offered in courses is primarily intended to promote communication skills within a partnership before long-lasting problems arise.

Development and evaluation

The authors of the program are Franz Thurmaier and Joachim Engl from the Munich Institute for Research and Training in Communication Therapy in collaboration with Kurt Hahlweg from the Psychological Institute of the TU Braunschweig . The EPL is aimed primarily at young couples and is also used in preparation for marriage . The Constructive Marriage and Communication (KEK) program by the same authors has been developed for long-term relationships .

There are several controlled long-term studies on EPL. Both a 5-year long-term study and an 11-year study showed a long-term improvement in communication behavior and a higher quality and stability of relationships compared to the control groups. In contrast to the PREP, however, the German studies did not examine the effects that the EPL could have on violence within the partnership . In the 5-year long-term study of couples willing to marry, the divorce rates between EPL couples (4%) and a control group (23%) differed significantly. In the 11-year long-term study of one - with an independent sample of couples who had been married for a long time and were initially dissatisfied - divorce rates were 27.5% for EPL couples and 52.6% for comparative couples without EPL. The number of happy couples in the EPL group was very high at 80%.

In several follow-ups up to five years after the course, the EPL couples showed more positive and less negative conversational behavior between the partners, both verbally and non-verbally. At the same time, the subjective satisfaction with the relationship remained at a high level different from that of the control couples : In the Marital Adjustment Test , which measures satisfaction with one's own relationship, after three years there was no significant difference in the existing EPL couples than at the beginning - in contrast to a clearly measurable deterioration in the control group.

Kurt Hahlweg's laudation on the awarding of the German Psychology Prize praises EPL as one of the few successes in the prevention of relationship disorders.

procedure

As a rule, two trainers supervise four pairs (or 3 trainers 6 pairs) over the course of a weekly course or a weekend course. In the course, the couples should cognitively grasp where communication problems can occur and practice more positive communication behavior in practice. The role of the trainer is relatively strictly defined. You should present the communication tools in a lecture and role play. They should support the couples during the discussions, but only pay attention to the formal aspects of the conversation and not to the content.

The program follows a systematic structure. The conversation exercises start with simple and unproblematic topics and role-plays in order to understand the basic principles and experience their effects. Once the couples have learned the techniques, they try them out on an existing partnership problem. The first half of the course program (units 1–3) is used to teach and learn basic communication skills and their application. In particular, in the third session a problem-solving scheme is introduced and applied to a couple's own topic. In the second half (units 4–6), the couples then apply the conversation skills they have learned to specific topics. Unit 4 is about expectations in the relationship, unit 5 is about eroticism and sexuality and the last unit 6 is about values ​​that are lived in the relationship. The EPL-based program KEK for couples in long-term relationships contains additional techniques and modules to counter changes in the partnership and to revitalize resources. Different variants of KEK have emerged in recent years.

Both programs expressly do not contain any therapeutic elements, although the individual providers themselves may also have further advisory and therapeutic expertise. The courses are therefore not designed for couples who have persistent serious problems or who intend to separate. Conversation techniques and problem-solving skills, on the other hand, should be taught, which help to solve conflicts and everyday demands efficiently at an early stage . For broad-based prevention, interactive DVDs were created on the basis of EPL and KEK on behalf of the Bavarian Ministry of Social Affairs in the series Successful communication - so that love remains . For stressed couples there is a program - also based on EPL - communication skills KOMKOM, which is offered as part of marriage counseling or couples therapy.

distribution

EPL and KEK offer an effective prevention offer in the area of ​​family education and couple counseling with a good broad impact in German-speaking countries. The programs are offered in almost all regions of Germany and also in Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland through church organizations. EPL is a marriage preparation program primarily offered as part of adult education by church educational institutions. The Catholic Church in particular enables EPL to be widely distributed through financial support (e.g. 50% of the costs are subsidized in Munich) and through the coordination of courses and trainers. The intensive additional training to become a trainer in the highly structured programs is a total of 6 days and is linked to regular supervision. The program is protected by copyright.

See also

literature

  • Engl, J. & Thurmaier, F. (2002): Communication skills in partnership and family . In B. Rollett & H. Werneck, (Eds.) Clinical Developmental Psychology of the Family, 326-350. Hogrefe Verlag, Göttingen.
  • Engl, J. & Thurmaier, F. (2001): Understanding each other better - the preventive programs EPL and KEK as new ways of marriage preparation and marriage support . In S. Walper & R. Pekrun (eds.), Family and Development: Perspektiven der Familienpsychologie, 364–384. Hogrefe Verlag, Göttingen.
  • Ann-Katrin Job, Guy Bodenmann, Donald H. Baucom and Kurt Hahlweg (2014): Recent developments in the prevention and treatment of relationship problems in couples. Current state of research and future challenges , Psychologische Rundschau, 65 (1), 11–23, Hogrefe Verlag, Göttingen.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Guy Bodenmann: Position determination in couple and family psychology . In: Journal of Family Research . tape 18 , no. 2 . Verlag Barbara Budrich, 2006, ISSN  1437-2940 , p. 148–170 ( ssoar.info [accessed March 12, 2019]).
  2. ↑ Dietmar Hipp: Keep talking. Communication training is designed to help spouses. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , October 10, 1991.
  3. ^ Ina gray, Hans-Werner Bierhoff (ed.): Social psychology of partnership . Springer, 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-55590-9 , pp. 202 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed August 17, 2020]).
  4. ↑ a b c Wolfgang Lutz: Textbook of Couples Therapy UTB, 2006 ISBN 3825283402 , pp. 83-87
  5. ↑ Timo Grünbacher: Relationship Competence in Couples GRIN Verlag, 2009 ISBN 3640288483 , pp. 10–12.
  6. ↑ a b Michael Wirsching, Peter Scheib: Couple and Family Therapy Springer, 2002 ISBN 3540418571 , pp. 55–60
  7. ↑ Kurt Hahlweg K., Thurmaier, F., Engl, J., Eckert, V. & Markman, HJ (1998). Prevention of relationship disorders in the Federal Republic of Germany. Prevention of Separation and Divorce - International Approaches to Predicting and Preventing Relationship Disorders . In: Series of publications by the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth (Ed.), Volume 151. pp. 191–216. Stuttgart, Kohlhammer ISBN 3170154796
  8. ^ Kurt Hahlweg, Diana Richter: Prevention of marital instability and couple distress: Results of an 11-year longitudinal follow-up study . In: Behavior Research and Therapy . No. 48 (5) , May 2010, ISSN  0005-7967 , p. 377–383 , doi : 10.1016 / j.brat.2009.12.010 (English).
  9. ↑ Rosemarie Nave-Herz: Continuity and change of the family in Germany: an analysis of contemporary history. Lucius & Lucius DE, 2002, ISBN 3828202187 , p. 151.
  10. ↑ Guy Bodenmann and Mirjam Kessler: Prevention programs for couples - methods and effectiveness. In: Familiendynamik, 36th year, issue 4/2011, pp. 346–355.
  11. ↑ Hahlweg K., Markman, HJ , Thurmaier, F., Engl, J. & Eckert, V. (1998). Prevention of marital distress: Results of a German prospective longitudinal study . Journal of Family Psychology, 12, 543-556. doi : 10.1037 / 0893-3200.12.4.543
  12. ↑ Jürgen Margraf : Laudation for Prof. Dr. Kurt Hahlweg for the presentation of the German Psychology Prize of the Professional Association of German Psychologists, the Christoph Dornier Foundation for Clinical Psychology and the German Society for Psychology on October 20, 2008 in the Senate Hall of Humboldt University. (PDF; 139 kB) October 20, 2008, accessed on May 20, 2015 .
  13. ↑ Klaus A. Schneewind : "Priority for the family" through familial communication in: Jörg Althammer (ed.): Family policy and social security: Festschrift for Heinz Lampert Springer, 2005 ISBN 3540245383 , pp. 25-38
  14. ^ Fuhrer, U. (2007). Parenting skills. What makes parents and families strong . Pp. 280ff. Bern: Huber.
  15. ↑ Ludwig Schindler, Kurt Hahlweg, Dirk Revenstorf: Partnership Problems ?: How Your Relationship Works - Handbook for Couples , 3rd, updated and completely revised edition, Springer Medizin Verlag Heidelberg, 2013, ISBN 978-3-540-48844-6
  16. ↑ Thurmaier, F., Engl, J., Hahlweg K. (1995). Marriage Preparation - A Partnership Learning Program (EPL). Manual for trained trainers. Munich, Institute for Research and Training in Communication Therapy ISBN 978-3-931-584-02-3
  17. ^ Engl, J. & Thurmaier, F. (1998). Constructive Marriage and Communication (KEK) - A partnership development program. Manual for trained trainers. Munich, Institute for Research and Training in Communication Therapy ISBN 978-3-931-584-04-7
  18. ^ Engl, J. & Thurmaier, F. (2007). A kick more partnership. Successful communication ... so that love stays . An interactive DVD on the success of relationships for young couples with an accompanying brochure (74 pp.). Munich, Institute for Research and Training in Communication Therapy ISBN 978-3-931584-08-5
  19. ^ Engl, J. & Thurmaier, F. (2010). Successful communication ... so that love stays 2 . An interactive DVD for couples in a relationship of several years with an accompanying brochure (79 pp.). Munich, Institute for Research and Training in Communication Therapy ISBN 978-3-931584-10-8
  20. ^ Engl, J. & Thurmaier, F. (2012). Successful communication ... so that love stays 3 . An interactive DVD for couples in (un) retired with an accompanying brochure (86 pp.). Munich, Institute for Research and Training in Communication Therapy ISBN 978-3-931584-12-2
  21. ^ Engl, J. & Thurmaier, F. (2003). KOMKOM - communication skills - training in couple counseling. Manual for trained trainers . Munich, Institute for Research and Training in Communication Therapy ISBN 978-3-931584-07-8
  22. ^ Engl, J. & Thurmaier, F. (2005). KOMKOM - a highly effective communication training in marriage counseling . Advice Current, 1: 22–40 ISSN  1439-5916
  23. ↑ Ina Grau, Hans-Werner Bierhoff: Social Psychology of Partnership Springer, 2002 ISBN 354042928X , pp. 202-205