Couple Therapy for Depression: Case Study
Published in CTFD resources on September 28th 2021
To read the full story and find out how their therapist identified the strengths in their relationship and their commitment to getting it back on track, please download the full case study:
Paul and Sandy's Story
Paul, 43, is a teacher and employed by the same secondary school in Sheffield that he went to as a child. He’s a devoted teacher and student mentor and unable to spend as much time with his family as he would like. His wife, Sandy, 37, looks after the couples’ two young sons.
Sandy left school with few qualifications and has always admired Paul’s steady professionalism. The couple had a good quality of life, thanks to Paul’s salary. A year ago, Paul was unexpectedly made redundant and this was followed by the death of Sandy’s dad, 3 months later. The couple relationship suffered from these two life-changing events and Sandy in particular seemed unable to cope, retreating into depression. After 6 months, Sandy sought help when the teacher of their eldest son got in contact to say she was worried about his behaviour in class. Fortunately, Sandy’s GP referred her to a local IAPT service where she was diagnosed with depression. The PWP that assessed her identified a relational aspect to the depression and the couple have been receiving Couple Therapy for Depression.