Integrating Family Therapy brings together family psychology and systems thinking to explore the ways systems therapists actually think and behave to bring about needed family change in the context of other systems. The theme of integration is carried through the book on several levels: integration of the family with school, work, medical, and other social systems; integration of research, theory, and systemic practice; and integration of methods and techniques from diverse schools of family therapy. The result is a book that gives the researcher and practitioner an encompassing perspective of family psychology and systems therapy today.
A common question at the initial meeting of a family therapist and a new client(s) is often whether or not to include a child or children in the counseling sessions. The inclusion of a child in the family therapy process often changes the dynamic between client and therapist -- and between the clients themselves -- within the context of the counseling sessions. And yet, although this is such a common experience, many counselors and family therapists are not adequately equipped to advise parents on whether to include a child in therapy sessions. Once the child does make an appearance in the counseling session, the therapist is faced with the challenges inherent in caring for a child, in addition to many concerns due to the unique circumstance of the structured therapy. Counseling a child in the context of a family therapy session is a specific skill that has not received the attention that it deserves. This book is intended as a guide for both novice and experienced counselors and family therapists, covering a wide range of topics and offering a large body of information on how to effectively counsel children and their families. It includes recent research on a number of topics including working with children in a family context, the exclusion of children from counseling, and counselor training methods and approaches, the effectiveness of filial play therapy, the effects of divorce on children, and ADHD. Theoretical discussion is given to different family therapy approaches including family play therapy and filial play therapy. Central to the text are interviews with leaders in the field, including Salvador Minuchin, Eliana Gil, Rise VanFleet and Lee Shilts. A chapter devoted to ethical and legal issues in working with children in family counseling provides a much-needed overview of this often overlooked topic. Chapters include discussion of specific skills relevant to child counseling in the family context, case vignettes and examples, practical tips for the counselor, and handouts for parents.
Family Therapy Techniques briefly reviews the basic theories of marriage and family therapy. It then goes into treatment models designed to facilitate the tailoring of therapy to specific populations and the integration of techniques from what often seems like disparate theories. Based on the assumption that no single approach is the definitive approach for every situation, the book leads students through multiple perspectives. In teaching students to integrate and tailor techniques, this book asks them to take functional methods and approaches from a variety of theoretical approaches, without attempting to reiterate the theoretical issues and research covered in theories courses.
This thorough update of a classic text describes the impact of recent economic and structural changes in health care on the role of the medical family therapist, and how medical and mental health providers can learn to collaborate in various settings.
Pastoral counselors, therapists-in-training, and clergy are usually introduced to one method of family assessment and treatment, which works better in some situations than in others. Integrative Family Therapy introduces the major schools of family therapy, proposes a tested model that integrates the various approaches, and illustrates how this model functions both for assessing and treating family problems. Seven central concepts are discerned as a way of understanding the various family therapies as a group. Then the major family therapy theories are discussed, including cognitive, family life cycle-developmental, interactional-communication, multigenerational, object relations, problem solving, and structural family. After examining their deep structures, an integrated model of six discrete moments is presented and illustrated. Charts direct the reader through the model and illustrate how the model is employed by means of several case studies.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. Treatment Planning. 2. Structural Family Therapy. 3. Strategic Therapy. 4. Milan Systemic Approach. 5. MRI Approach. 6. Satir's Communication Approach. 7. Symbolic-Experiential Family Therapy. 8. Intergenerational Family Therapy. 9. Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy. 10. Solution-Focused Therapy. 11. Narrative Therapy. 12. Collaborative Therapies. Internet and Video Resources. Index.
Now in its fifth edition, The Practice of Family Therapy comes at a time when traditional approaches to psychotherapy have given way to multidimensional strategies that best serve the needs of diverse groups who are grappling with the many challenges unique to family therapy practice. With expanded coverage of different models, along with new developments in evidence-based and postmodern practices, this integrative textbook bridges the gap between science and systemic/relational approaches, as it guides the reader through each stage of family therapy. Part I lays the groundwork by introducing the first-, second-, and third-generation models of family therapy, teaching the reader to integrate different elements from these models into a systemic structure of practice. Part II explores the practical application of these models, including scripts for specific interventions and rich case examples that highlight how to effectively work with diverse client populations. Students will learn how to make connections between individual symptoms and cutting-edge family practices to respond successfully to cases of substance abuse, trauma, grief, depression, suicide risk, violence, LGBTQ families, and severely mentally ill clients and their families. Also included are study guides for each model and a glossary to review main concepts. Aligned with the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards’ (AMFTRB) knowledge and content statements, this textbook will be key reading for graduate students who are preparing for the national licensing exam in marriage and family therapy.
A comprehensive, user-friendly guide to marriage and family therapy that takes a holistic view to look at people within the context of their environment. Family Therapy helps students understand the process of shifting from an individual psychology paradigm to a cybernetic or systems paradigm. The text is divided into three sections: "The Systemic Framework," "The Practice of Family Therapy," and "The Systemic Practitioner," and it includes historical information, current developments, and ongoing debates. Various family and developmental theories are examined. The family therapy models considered include psychodynamic, natural systems, experiential, structural, communications, strategic, behavioral/cognitive, and several post-modern approaches. Assessment, intervention, training and supervision, research, and epistemological challenges are discussed within the context of practice. Learning Goals Upon completing this book readers will be able to: Describe and compare various family therapy models Discuss practical applications for different family and developmental theories Review and assess unique family systems to determine the appropriate family therapy model Understand how concepts with the same name differ in meaning at different levels (i.e. 1 st order versus 2 nd order cybernetics)
An affirming guide equipping family therapists to effectively incorporate positive psychology within their practices The next step in the evolution of family therapy, positive psychology has enabled family therapists to help families—whatever their form—to build upon their strengths, overcome dysfunction, and move to new levels of harmony and thriving. Positive Psychology and Family Therapy: Creative Techniques and Practical Tools for Guiding Change and Enhancing Growth integrates positive psychology into traditional family therapy, presenting therapists with best-practice wisdom and evidence-based clinical tools to help?turn dysfunctional or troubled families into flourishing families. Contributing a unique perspective to the field that combines the research, practice, and theory associated with the latest in positive psychology and family therapy, Positive Psychology and Family Therapy equips therapists to cultivate virtues, such as empathy, kindness, responsibility, involvement, social justice, work ethic, teamwork, purpose, and volunteerism. Filled with homework assignments and exercises that integrate positive techniques and interventions, this book establishes and promotes the family as the basic building block of the individual and the community. Offering therapists with no previous introduction to positive psychology a solid foundation, this text includes essential discussion of family interventions and techniques that demonstrate positive family therapy, as well as case examples that bring the concepts covered to life in real and accessible scenarios. Authors Collie Conoley and Jane Close Conoley draw from their years of experience working with families to offer an integrated, practical?approach that allows family therapists to utilize positive psychology principles effectively within their practices.
The authors demonstrate how therapists can coordinate care with other health professionals dealing with medical problems ranging from infertility to terminal and chronic illness.
