This chapter provides an overview of dissemination and implementation science, which focuses on how clinical interventions can be effectively employed with various client populations in various settings. It reviews some of the ways – other than the one-to-one in-person format – that mental health care can be delivered, including in groups, couples, and families. It also describes advances in technology-delivered services, the increasing role of non-specialist providers in delivering mental health care around the world, and community-based efforts to prevent mental health problems. It concludes with a discussion of self-help and complementary integrative techniques, highlighting the broad range of methods available to deliver mental health services and the need to consider a wider range of delivery models to help reduce the global gap between treatment needs and treatment availability.

African American couples facing medical illness have received limited attention within the couples psychotherapy literature. This chapter highlights research and theory relevant to couples coping with medical illness within sociohistorical and culturally relevant conceptual frameworks in clinical practice. Considerations for clinical practice are offered.

This volume encompasses five sections and 16 chapters. Each section is composed of chapters with similar themes and focal areas. Each chapter was written to stand independently, which allows the reader to select chapters most relevant to their work or curiosity. Each chapter is structured to provide a sociocultural understanding of the factors that influence African American coupling, the impact of anti-Black racism and its manifestation in the couple dynamic, along with intervention strategies. A list of questions is provided at the end of each chapter to encourage the reader to reflect on the main themes and their application. The themes of the five sections are racism and identity; fundamentals for healthy coupling; adapting major therapeutic approaches for work with Black couples; sex and intimacy, and special topics, including infertility issues of Black lesbians and Black men and couples dealing with medical illness.

This chapter explores the ways in which religion, spirituality, and romance intersect in Black American same-gender-loving (SGL) men’s lives. Specifically, the author reviewed published scholarly literature on these topics. This review is followed by a critical analysis of the links between religion, spirituality, and romantic relationships and sexual experiences. This author explored the ways in which religion and spirituality influence the development, maintenance, dynamics, and quality of Black American SGL men’s romantic and sexual relationships. Then the author describes strategies, based on the reviewed literature and Afrocentric psychology theory, to help clinicians better assess the interplay of religion, spirituality, and romance. Clinical methods to treat sexual and psychological problems related to these factors are also explored. The chapter culminates with recommendations for future clinical research in this area.

This chapter addresses the challenges that often arise for Black transgender men and romantic partners when seeking support in therapy. It covers key terminology related to gender identity and its application to clinical practice with Black transgender men and their romantic partners. To further understand how to navigate couples therapy with transgender men, this chapter provides details on how to differentiate between gender and other facets of identity, like biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, gender presentation, and sexual orientation. The chapter also summarizes major Narrative Therapy concepts and explores Narrative Therapy interventions for working with Black transgender men and their romantic partners. A case example will serve as an education tool to illustrate Narrative Therapy with Black transgender men and their romantic partners.

This chapter describes pseudoscience and questionable ideas related to couples discord. The chapter opens by discussing myths about relationships such as the notion that “opposites attract.” The chapter also emphasises the importance of screening for intimate partner violence before initiating conjoint therapy sessions. Dubious treatments include narrative couples therapy, relational life therapy, and other forms of therapy for couples. The chapter closes by reviewing research-supported approaches.