The promotion of healthy, emotionally satisfying relationships is a universal goal of all mental health professionals. Yet, therapeutically managing couples in treatment can be quite challenging because there are so many dynamics that need to be addressed. First, there are the personality styles of each member; what motivational dynamics do they bring to the relationship? Second, there are the individual expectations that each brings about their own role in the relationship as well as that of their partners. Finally, there are the perceptions each holds of the others’ actions in the relationship. While traditional personality and marital satisfaction scales can address the first two issues, the dynamic nature of the third issue requires a very differnet approach. The Cross-Over Analysis (COA) process has been developed to capture this aspect of relationships. Its focus is to compare one member’s view of his/her partner’s personality characteristics with that partner’s self-rated personality scores. Differences between these ratings address two important dynamics: First the magnitude of divergence between the observer and self reports speaks to an overall level of dissatisfaction that the observer is having with his/her partner. Second, the differences on particular personality scales can indicate the specific types of issues raters are having with their partners. For example, spouses who rate their partners lower on the personality dimension of Extraversion may have issues around their partners as being too dominant, being too much of a risk taker, or always wanting to party. Rating their partners as being lower on Extraversion may be associated with experiencing their partners as being over controlling, unaffectionate, or being aloof.

The CCICL was designed to identify specific relationship issues that are associated with partners who are rated as being higher or lower on the personality Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality dimensions then they rate themselves. Such discrepancies represent misinterpretations of partners’ motivations. By identifying specific behavioral actions that are the sources of relationship distress, the CCICL provides therapists with a way of identifying the causes of these misperceptions. Rather than blaming partners for their failures in the relationship, the COA allows for couples to explore the reasons for their (mis)perceptions and to explore their partners’ own rationale behind these critical behaviors.