Mixed quantum-classical methods, in which the electronic system is described quantum mechanically and the nuclear system classically, allow an efficient theoretical description of molecular systems in intense laser fields. In standard mean field approaches, the missing correlation between the nuclear and the electronic system may lead to a source of error, however. Here, we present an approximate treatment of this correlation for strongly perturbed single electron systems. The performance of the methodology is demonstrated by the qualitative reproduction of full quantum results for the ionization as well as the dissociation probability of the H-2(+) molecule interacting with an intense laser field. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.