How to Collaborate Well

In this paper, I answer the question, how do we collaborate well with others? I first look at cases of good collaboration, contrasting them briefly with some cases of poor collaboration; I then describe the similarities between the good cases, such as shared aims, shared planning of projects, shared norms among collaborators. The conclusion is that collaborating well involves shared norms, derived both from societal norms and from a well-ordered relationship between participants; a shared vision derived from shared knowledge and open communication grounded in relationship; and open-mindedness and thoughtful disagreement, which depend on mutual respect and trust between participants.     

Teaching Interpersonal Communication to Troubled Families

Assumptions family members make about each other exert considerable influence on communication in families. Rigidly held assumptions restrict the flow of information, reinforcing counterproductive behavioral patterns. Combining psychoanalytic and structural components, this paper offers a new approach to family intervention that addresses itself to the exchange of information within troubled families. Groups of families convene for a series of camping weekends. The shared life experience in a recreational setting plus the use of a teaching model help family members to break through rigid conceptualizations of themselves and others. In following the observational model, which slows down and fosters reciprocation in communication, family members pursue the following steps: (a) observe each other; (b) compare notes with a co-observer; (c) share observations with those observed; and (d) receive feedback from the observed.     

Teaching and Doing Gender in African American Families

In this article, based on in-depth interviews with a nonrandom sample of 35 African American parents (25 mothers and 10 fathers), I explore the gender socialization of children in their families. Using the conceptual framework advanced by multiracial feminism, I explore how both race and class shape the gender ideologies and behaviors of parents. The findings reveal significant support for teaching children gender role equality; however, that support is mediated by social class status (defined by education) and patterns of social mobility. In this study, 21 respondents were classified as middle-class and 14 as lower-income parents. Social class status predicts religiosity, homophobia, and structural factors that may militate against full support for gender equality or foster contradictions between ideology and behavior. The results show the role of Black parents as active agents in the lives of their children and expand our knowledge about child socialization processes in Black families. The study also contributes to multiracial feminist theory and the emerging literature on the growing social class diversity among African Americans.     

Assigning Homework to Couples and Families

Homework assignments, or “out-of-session assignments,” have gained popularity among couple and family therapists due to their potential to solidify the work achieved during the course of therapy and to help clients take responsibility for their own change. Homework assignments also serve as a testing ground in therapy to determine what works and what does not. This article provides an update on some of the empirical literature on homework assignments and its reported effectiveness in the domain of couples and family therapy. It also highlights the need for and the effectiveness of out-of-session assignments during the course of treatment.     

What Bioethics Needs to Learn About Families

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics -     

Resilience in Families Adapting to Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study explored adjustment and adaptation in families living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Data on family resilience were collected from 19 biological mothers of children with ADS. The data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively to yield information on factors that enable these families to bounce back from the diagnosis and accompanying challenges with regard to ADS. The findings from the qualitative analysis indicate that social support, the spousal relationship, and family time, togetherness and routines are the most important resilience-promoting factors with ASD. Family hardiness, family problem-solving communication, and family time and routines were significant resilience resources.     

One- to Three-Session Therapy With Children and Families

Individuals or families occasionally “leave therapy” after only one or several sessions, claiming to have gotten what they needed. Although such experiences are often considered treatment failures, there is growing evidence that such brief contacts can in fact produce changes as thorough and meaningful as those seen in long-term treatment. The few studies exploring such brief encounters suggest the long-range effectiveness of one-session treatment across diagnostic categories. Examples of one- to three-session treatment in the individual and family therapy literature are cited. Three of the author's cases are described, illustrating one style of intervention. Is such treatment merely palliative, or can it deal with “underlying” causal issues? How can significant change occur within the structure of one to three hours? These issues are discussed within the framework of psychoanalytic and family systems theories of symptom formation and symptom maintenance.     

The Paradigm Shift to True Collaboration with Families

Target four of the National Agenda for Achieving Better Outcomes for Children and Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance focuses on collaborating with families to improve service delivery and results for their children. Moving toward this goal has necessitated the continuation of a paradigm shift that brought out this target as an important one in the first place, and that has highlighted the difference between family-focused and family-driven approaches. We discuss the history of the paradigm shift, the progress that has been made toward this goal of making families full collaborative partners in the care of their children, the elements and examples of effective systems of care, and the distance still to traverse toward fully realizing the goal of this strategic target.     

Reporting Diagnostic Test Results to Patients and their Families

Summary

Clinical psychologists have been concerned about the proper presentation of their test results to everyone but the patient. Nevertheless, they bear an obligation to inform the patient of the findings, which, after all, were contingent upon his cooperation and effort. A method of presenting such data is described, which can be applied to school, vocational, and psychiatric disturbances. and one case is presented in detail. The method's efficacy is largely a function of the skill and experience of the counselor, the motivation of the client, the presence of a positive working relationship, and a respect for the person being tested.