Emocional contract and ethical code: bases of marital reconstruction

Abstract

Psychotherapy of couples should focus on the central aspects of the spouses’ relationship: the emocional contract and the ethical agreements established at the beginning of their marriage. The main purpose of the first therapeutic interventions are to unblock communication, to define unacceptable behaviors and to elaborate the loss of the illusion of a perfect marriage. Complementary procedures aim to help the couple identify the influence of previous relationships on their present interations, making it possible to have an equal division of power and shared responsabilities while learning to make emocional repair and negotiate. The present psychotherapic approach goes beyond couples inicial complaints, bringing old marital contracts up-to-date and revising marital ethical code. This will produce significant changes in the foundation of the couple’s relationship, as well as changes on the effects of cultural gender prescriptions and the echos of the past on the partners’ present relationship.