Bangladeshi couple therapists' perspectives of divorce decision-making

Kawser, Umme, Harris, Steven M., Mallick, Pauroma Preety, White, Michael L. and Gramlow, Lexi D. (2025) Bangladeshi couple therapists' perspectives of divorce decision-making. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 51 (3) (e70028). pp. 1-9. ISSN 1752-0606

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how family therapists (n = 15) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, assist couples in navigating divorce decision‐making, addressing a gap in research on divorce ideation in non‐Western contexts. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed four key themes: (1) Therapists as experts, (2) Respect for client autonomy, (3) Therapist neutrality, and (4) Clarity in the decision as the goal. Each of the themes is situated in the social context of Dhaka, the capital city, where couple therapy is a fairly new mental health practice and beliefs about marriage and divorce are culturally informed. These cultural beliefs include ideas that divorce is shameful, is not religiously sanctioned, and is harder on women. Future research could focus on the experiences of therapists or other community helpers (i.e., religious or kinship networks) in rural areas and among less‐educated populations to better understand the broader landscape of divorce decision‐making in Bangladesh.

Documents
10405:52805
[thumbnail of jmft.70028.pdf]
Preview
jmft.70028.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0.

Download (296kB) | Preview
Details
Record
View Item View Item