Negotiation of gender responsibilities in resettled refugee populations through Relationship Enhancement training

Being uprooted, displaced, and resettled can produce great tension in refugee marriages. This paper details a technique to help refugees recognize and manage changes and threats to traditional gender roles after resettlement to western countries. A case study from a multisite psycho-educational marriage project illustrates the application of the Relationship Enhancement model with a Bhutanese couple. Through empathy and structured dialogue, the couple is coached to identify their core concerns about the changes in their lives and come up with mutually beneficial solutions. Focusing on the redistribution of each gender's prescribed responsibilities allows the clinician to respond to the cultural structuring of equitable division of labor while helping families to address new responsibilities in managing household duties, parenting, employment, and finances.