Systems theory is the basic theoretical model underlying most contemporary family therapy. In this accessible introduction, the author traces how systems theory gave rise to family systems theory, outlines the basic propositions of family systems and links it both to other family theory literature and to clinical practice. Among the topics covered are relational space, family boundaries, family stratification and child socialization. Family meanings and such shared realities as family folklore, stories, myths and memorabilia are discussed. Family rituals are also explored.
Widely adopted, this valued course text and practitioner guide has expanded our understanding of the diversity and complexity of "normal" families today. Froma Walsh and her contributing authors are at the forefront of family systems research and clinical training. They describe the challenges facing contemporary families and ways in which clinicians can promote well-being and resilience. Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect important research advances and the changing contexts of family life, the fourth edition covers new topics including evidence-based assessment, neurobiology, kinship care, and family rituals. The introductory section by Walsh surveys emerging trends in family life; critically examines views of family normality, health, and dysfunction; and provides a strengths-based framework for clinical practice. Subsequent sections present cutting-edge research on varied family structures and sociocultural and developmental contexts, highlighting implications for assessment and intervention. The book identifies processes that nurture and sustain strong bonds in couples; dual-earner, divorced, single-parent, and remarried families; gay and lesbian families; and adoptive and kinship care families. It discusses how families are influenced by social and economic constraints, changing gender norms, immigration experiences, and spirituality. It examines the multigenerational family life cycle and describes key family processes for coping and resilience, with attention to the normative strains of childrearing as well as major stressors such as trauma, loss, and chronic illness or disability. Rounding out the volume, the final section reviews the state of the science of family assessment and probes genetic and neurobiological interactions with family processes. Shifting the focus from how families fail to how they can succeed, this book is essential reading for therapists and counselors, as well as instructors and graduate students in family therapy, psychology, social work, counseling, nursing, and related fields. It is a uniquely informative and authoritative text for graduate-level courses.
Developmental psychopathology seeks to unravel the complex connections among biological, psychological, and social-contextual aspects of normal and abnormal development. This volume presents the core and cutting-edge principles of the field in an integrative, accessible manner. The investigatory lens is focused on the primary context in which children develop--the family. Reviewing current research in such areas as attachment and parenting styles, marital functioning, and parental depression, the volume examines how these variables may influence developmental processes across a range of domains and, in turn, predict the emergence of clinical problems. Illuminated are the interplay of risk and protective factors, biological and contextual influences, and continuous and discontinuous patterns of development in childhood and adolescence. Also considered in depth are the ways in which the developmental psychopathology perspective points to new directions in diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of child emotional and behavioral disorders. Featuring a wealth of figures, tables, and illustrative vignettes, this is a valuable source book for practititioners, scholars, and other professionals in mental health and related disciplines. It will also serve as a text in graduate-level courses on developmental psychopathology and clinical child psychology.
Now a Netflix Limited Series "...A compulsively readable tour de force." —The Wall Street Journal New York Times Book Review recommends M.T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family and lauds it as a “page-turner” that forces the reader to confront “the compromises we make with ourselves to be the people we believe our beloveds expect.” (NYTimes Book Review Summer Reading Issue) M.T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family is a gripping legal thriller that forces the reader to consider: How far would you go to protect the ones you love? In this twisted narrative of love and murder, a horrific crime makes a seemingly normal family question everything they thought they knew about their life—and one another. Eighteen-year-old Stella Sandell stands accused of the brutal murder of a man almost fifteen years her senior. She is an ordinary teenager from an upstanding local family. What reason could she have to know a shady businessman, let alone to kill him? Stella’s father, a pastor, and mother, a criminal defense attorney, find their moral compasses tested as they defend their daughter, while struggling to understand why she is a suspect. Told in an unusual three-part structure, A Nearly Normal Family asks the questions: How well do you know your own children? How far would you go to protect them?
This functional new volume introduces professionals to the Circumplex Model of Family Systems--one of the most respected and widely used approaches of its kind in family studies. Internationally known scholar/practitioners in the marriage and family therapy field demonstrate how the model can be used to assess couple and family dynamics and plan treatment interventions. They extend the use of the Circumplex Model for treating problem families using a range of clinical interventions at both the family level and broader social system level--including specific treatment populations--sex offenders, juvenile delinquents, truants, and multi-problem families. Designed as a multidisciplinary resource, this authoritative and accurate volume will assist social workers, psychologists, pastoral counselors, family therapists, and other mental health professionals who work with individuals in a family treatment context.
Widely adopted, this valued course text and practitioner guide has expanded the understanding of family normality and healthy functioning in our increasingly diverse society. The editor and contributors are at the forefront of research and clinical training. They describe the challenges facing contemporary families and ways in which clinicians can promote resilience. With consideration of sociocultural and developmental influences, chapters identify key family processes that nurture and sustain strong bonds in couples; dual-earner, divorced, single-parent, remarried, adoptive, and kinship care families; gay and lesbian families; culturally diverse families; and those coping with adversity, such as trauma,ÿ poverty, and chronic illness.ÿNew to This Edition*Reflects important research advances and the changing contexts of family life.*Additional chapter topics: kinship care, family rituals, evidence-based assessment, and neurobiology.*All chapters have been fully updated.
This comprehensive book, ideal as a basic text in family therapy and women's studies, addresses the question of how women experience family life from a variety of perspectives. It covers gender issues in family therapy theory, practice, and training; women in context (ethnicity and life cycle issues, marriage, motherhood, sisterhood, women alone, lesbian couples), and such special issues as work, addiction, and mental illness.
This volume provides a diverse, eclectic, and paradoxically mature approach to theorizing and demonstrates how the development of theory is crucial to the future of family research.".
This volume, the result of the second annual Summer Institute sponsored by the Family Research Consortium, focuses on family transitions--both normative and non-normative. The subject of family transitions has been a central concern of the consortium largely because studies of families in motion help to highlight mechanisms leading to adaptation and dysfunction. This text represents a collective effort to understand the techniques individuals and families employ to adapt to the pressing issues they encounter along their life course.
