Jay Haley (1923-2007), a leading marriage and family therapist, has expressed the belief that concentrating on feelings and thinking will not lead to change, that empathy on the part of the therapist does not correct problems, and that insight often just provides an excuse for intellectual rationalization and game-playing.[1] [1] Jay Haley, "Marriage Therapy," in Gerald D. Erickson and Terrance P. Hogan, eds., _Family Therapy: An Introduction to Theory and Technique_ (Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1972), pp. 180-210. Because the patterns of behavior of a troubled couple or family tend to be very rigid, therapists have found that strongly directive techniques are most effective. Their focus is on developing interventions--or therapeutic strategies--that will have a real impact on the complex patterns of interaction that have come to paralyze a couple or a family. What seems to help in marriage and family therapy is ingenuity on the part of the therapist that will give him or her power or control over a situation that is out of control. One way to do this is to force clients into a paradoxical situation. For example, the therapist may prescribe that a couple or members of a family _continue_ their present unsatisfying behavior. As a result, they may (and very likely will) rebel so that desired change comes about.[2] [2] As we have seen, logotherapy and Adlerian therapy both make use of this technique, as do family therapists, as we will see later on. All family therapy _is_ marriage therapy to a certain extent. And so, suppose we first look more closely at what marriage therapy is like. {198} MARRIAGE THERAPY Marriage therapy is generally advisable[3] when the husband or wife has sought help in individual counseling but this has not been helpful. Sometimes the marital relationship itself inhibits, or even undermines, the improvement of the most troubled person. For example, individual therapy did nothing to help one woman who was suffering from severe chronic anxiety. When her husband was asked to participate in treatment, it was found that he abused his wife continuously but subtly. Whenever she spoke, he would criticize her views and indirectly slight her worth; when he lost something, he would often accuse her of misplacing it. The problem she had come for help with turned out to be marital rather than individual. [3] See Jay Haley, "_Marriage Therapy_," pp. 180-210. If you are unable or unwilling to communicate openly and adequately with a therapist, marriage therapy may encourage your spouse to become more involved in the process of therapy. Often, having the other marital partner present will stimulate an otherwise silent client to express himself or herself, especially to correct what the other partner has to say!