This show takes four married couples whose relationships are suffering from major dysfunctions and employs a radical technique to try to set the marriages aright.
The four couples are not unusual in any way. The spouses have common complaints, like "he takes me for granted" or "she is always arguing with me." The radical technique is "switch therapy", which involves the spouses spending two weeks away from each other (with absolutely no contact) and living with "experimental spouses"--people whose personalities are more like what they think they want.
This is not a game. Two psychologists choose the experimental match-ups and oversee the entire process, sometimes intervening when it appears a spouse is off track. If you are wondering what the proper track is, it goes something like this:
1. The spouses say their goodbyes, then are transported to a house (in California) where they meet their experimental spouses.
2. They have to deal with their nervousness at meeting someone they know nothing about, someone they will be living with for two weeks. When they check out their new environs, they realize there is only one bed in the house. How will they deal with that?
3. During the two weeks, they eat together, deal with household chores and, hopefully, have open discussions that allow them to confront the issues that threaten their marriages. Their personality match-ups are designed to offer them a glimpse at what life might be like with a different type of spouse. Is the grass really greener on the other side of the fence?
4. They take a trip together and explore activities that they probably would never experience with their real spouses.
5. They meet with their spouse's experimental spouse. Surprise!
I won't explain any more of the process, but it offers many opportunities for the participants to analyze the behaviors of themselves and their spouses, and to compare contrasting styles.
This is not "Marriage at First Sight", where the intention is to match up strangers for the express purpose of finding a lifelong mate. These spouses want their marriages to work.
This is not "The Bachelor". This is not matchmaking and though the experimental couples do get to participate in new activities, they are not spending their two weeks in exotic locales, being pampered.
And this is not "Wife Swap", where the wives impose their value systems on the daily lifestyles of their host families. Both shows include the temporary swapping of spouses, but "Switch" is entirely managed by the psychologists and involves a therapeutic process.
Married people should be able to see themselves and their marriages in the participants. And it may push your buttons or force you to confront fears. I think that is one reason some people have an immediate negative reaction to the premise of the show. A lot can be gained by watching, so I hope people will not be scared off by the title.
