The major strength of this book is that it is the first of its kind in marriage and family therapy. It does a very good job of summarizing all of the existing literature (e. g. , journal articles and psychotherapy books), so if you haven't read much on common factors, this will be a great book for you. If you have a solid understanding of common factors, this can still be a very good book, but I wouldn't expect anything new or groundbreaking. The authors acknowledge that a great deal more research is needed to truly understand common factors, but they do a good job of presenting the information that currently exists. Some of the information you will gain from this book is (1) an understanding of how common factors influence relational therapy; (2) the history of common factors in other fields; (3) a few specific common factors that have been studied more than others (e. g. , therapeutic alliance, client motivation); and (4) how a common factors approach/framework can influence clinical work with couples and families.