First published in 1982, this title started as a study of clients with marital problems and how they came to seek help. Using a sociological approach to marriage, the authors compare the medical and non-medical settings the clients attended and looks at their social networks to see how people view and conduct their marital relationships.

Acknowledgements. New Preface for the Reissue. Introduction. 1. The Research Focus: Concepts and Ideas 2. The Project: Research Design, Methods, and Characteristics of the Group Studied 3. Attitudes to the Disclosure of Personal and Marital Problems 4. Marital Problems: The Ways They Were Defined and Attributed 5. The Context of the Help-Seeking Process: Critical Events and Problems 6. The Marriages and Their Social Networks 7. Informal Consulting and Social Networks 8. Formal Help-Seeking: Social Networks, Approaches, and Pathways 9. The Agencies: Perceptions, Expectations, and Initial Impact 10. Prescriptions for Counselling: Assumptions, Meanings, and Approaches 11. Perceptions of the Ideal Situations for Disclosure 12. Postscript. References. Index of Couples. Name Index. Subject Index.