Our work shows the marital relationship to be a complex system in which the movement of marital interaction to predictable points in that system represents the emergence of order. In this chapter we present two methods for describing this system. First we present an empirically based theory, the Sound Marital House theory, which describes the process of function and dysfunction in marriage. Following this, the order of the marital system is depicted in our recently developed mathematical model. These congruent models of marital interaction provide us with a method for delineating the underlying emotional structure, and the developmental trajectory, of the marital system. Furthermore, these models present us with an opportunity to prescribe clinical interventions with the aim of devising effective marital therapies.

The Field of Marital Therapy

Current marital therapies are not primarily based on prior empirical research. This is true even of the most studied marital therapies, the behavioral marital therapies. Instead, most therapies have evolved from the recommendations of respected therapists. Consider the evolution of a form of marital therapy called “contingency contracting,” which originated from the writings of Lederer and Jackson (1968). In their book, The Mirages of Marriage, these authors suggested that the failure of couples to have equitable exchange agreements was the basic problem of distressed marriages. The idea had never been tested, but it quickly appeared as a new marital therapy in the behavioral literature (Azrin, Naster, and Jones, 1973).