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APA Psychotherapy Training Videos are intended solely for educational purposes for mental health professionals. Viewers are expected to treat confidential material found herein according to strict professional guidelines. Unauthorized viewing is prohibited.
In Couple Therapy for Depression, Dr. Mark A. Whisman shows his approach to treating couples in which one or both partners are experiencing depression. His cognitive–behavioral approach focuses on building relationship skills and behavioral patterns, as behavior can usually be changed more readily than emotions, and oftentimes a change in affect follows a change in behavior.
In this session, Dr. Whisman works with a married couple in which the husband has bipolar disorder and the wife is experiencing depression. Both partners are dealing with issues outside their marriage, including financial demands from ex-spouses. Dr. Whisman works with the couple on discerning the crux of their presenting issues, and then he introduces them to some problem-solving and communication skills so they might support each other more effectively.
The cognitive–behavioral approach used in this video focuses on building relationship skills, thereby alleviating co-occurring depression in one or both partners. Couples with depression usually do not provide a lot of support to one another, thereby increasing problems with the relationship as well as the depression. One goal of this therapeutic approach is to strengthen these relationships by building skills such as problem solving and communication.
Read more about the approach
is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Washington.
Dr. Whisman's focuses include couples and depression, communication and cognitive aspects of couple functioning, and cognitive theory and therapy of depression. He is coeditor of the book Treating Difficult Couples: Helping Clients With Coexisting Mental and Relationship Disorders (with D. K. Snyder) as well as numerous articles and book chapters.
He is a founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and conducts workshops on individual and couple approaches to cognitive and behavior therapy.
- Beach, S. R. H., Sandeen, E. E., & O'Leary, K. D. (1990). Depression in marriage: A model for etiology and treatment. New York: Guilford Press.
- Snyder, D. K., & Whisman, M. A. (Eds.). (2003). Treating difficult couples: Helping clients with coexisting mental and relationship disorders. New York: Guilford Press.
- Whisman, M. A., & Uebelacker, L. A. (1999). Integrating couple therapy with individual therapies and antidepressant medications in the treatment of depression. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 6, 415–429.
- Whisman, M. A., & Weinstock, L. M. (2002). Cognitive therapy with couples. In F. Kaslow (Series Ed.) & T. Patterson (Vol. Ed.), Comprehensive handbook of psychotherapy: Vol. 2. Cognitive–behavioral approaches (pp. 373–394). New York: Wiley.
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