title: Marriage enrichment: friend or foe?
abstract: Marriage enrichment programs seem to have particular appeal to couples who hope to improve their relationship in their middle years. These programs usually take the form of a weekend retreat, and are limited to and usually led by married couples. Marriage enrichment programs should not be confused with encounter groups which flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. Some encounter groups deliberately used confrontation to bring anger or fear to the surface; enrichment programs emphasize the positive elements of the marriage relationship and avoid cathartic releases, which are more appropriate in a counselling or therapy framework. Encounter groups sometimes had negative effects on sensitive or fragile participants, while enrichment programs generally have a limited but positive effect on couples.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bader