Bette D. Harris Center
The Family Institute headquarters on the campus of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
National Participating Charity
Principal Investigator:
Research Program Assistant Director, The Family Institute
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychology
The strong links between relationship distress and depression, along with limitations in current theory, research and intervention, point to the need for a comprehensive, integrated system of interpersonal assessment, diagnosis and treatment. This project, directed by Lynne Knobloch-Fedders, PhD, the Coordinator of Research at The Family Institute, applies interpersonal theory to the study of couples in which one partner is depressed. The goal of this research is to develop a more comprehensive system of assessment, intervention and outcome evaluation.
Dr. Knobloch-Fedders has conducted pilot research comparing the interpersonal behavior of distressed couples with and without a depressed member. In a second pilot study that built on the first cross-sectional comparison study, Dr. Knobloch-Fedders has been studying the process and outcome of integrative couples therapy with distressed couples with and without depression. The couples are assessed during and after participation in a naturalistic but time-limited course of conjoint, Integrative Problem-Centered Psychotherapy (Pinsof, 1995). The study specifically aims to correlate treatment outcome with changes in maladaptive interpersonal patterns over the course of therapy and uses data from three different perspectives: patient self-report measures of depression, relationship distress, interpersonal behavior, and therapeutic alliance; interviewer report of depression; and therapist report of interpersonal behavior. The data from this study will be used to identify patterns of patient change and therapist behavior that could become the basis for a new, more effective treatment for married depressed adults in distressed relationships.
For more information about the Depression and Couples project, contact Dr. Lynne-Knobloch-Fedders at (847) 733-4300 ext. 9796 or by email at: