Coping Strategies of Immigrant Parents: Directions for Family Therapy

Immigration often involves major changes in the physical, cultural, and social settings in which families function and develop. In the process of immigration, parents are often confronted with totally different child-rearing practices and ideologies held by the socializing agents of the host culture. This article proposes an ecological approach for dealing with these differences. Based on this approach, it is suggested that an “adaptive adult” image underlies child-rearing ideologies and practices in different cultures. The article presents a differential perspective based on three types of coping strategies typically adopted by immigrant families struggling with conflicting “adaptive adult” images. This perspective challenges the prevailing notion that differences result in long-term malfunctioning of the child and family. Finally, the article outlines motives for choosing a specific strategy and suggests directions for family therapy using the proposed conceptual framework.     

Borderline Personality Disorder,Divorce and Family Therapy: The Need for Family Crisis Intervention Strategies

Recent literature reviews, point out the lack of crisis intervention and crisis prevention programs that are in existence to address crises experienced by first-degree and divorced family members of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) probands. The focus of such intervention programs should be to facilitate the improved ability of the first-degree and divorced family members to manage and transcend the unstable family environment. Correlations between personal instability and frequency of psychosocial crises have been examined, as well as the ripple effect of frequent individual crises on family environments. Reviews of current therapeutic interventions, as well as a synthesis of practical family therapy interventions focusing on breaking the cycle of dysfunctional multi-generational family environments are also examined.     

Family Therapy in China

This paper aims to provide an overview of the family therapy in mainland China, by analyzing its development, current situation and future directions. The authors argue that the history of family therapy can be understood as three stages: introductory stage from 1985 to 1994, “blossoming” stage from 1995 to 2004, and “fast growing” stage from 2005 to present. In every stage, we can see clear differences in each of the following fields: training (including training programs in universities and workshops held by companies or institutes), academics (including research articles, professional books and conferences), and general public environment (including media and policies). We also outline the development of China’s first university system family therapy training program as an example and evidence of family therapy’s significant present and future development in mainland China. Based on this, we highlight some points for future improvement in family therapy in mainland China, including developing indigenous theories and practice models, reinforcing training and research programs in university systems, and improving accreditation standard for all family therapists.     

Family Therapy in Romania

The article outlines the development of family therapy in Romania. Family therapy has a relatively brief history in this country, only beginning with the first training programs in the early to mid 1990s. However, as far as the number of professional associations is concerned, it is well represented on the map of psychotherapy approaches. There are several opportunities for training in family therapy. The accreditation of the training programs and the certification of the graduates of these programs is clearly regulated by law. From the legal point of view psychotherapy is considered a specialization of psychologists rather than an independent profession. The authors offer a brief overview of the history of family therapy in Romania, its present position in the health and social care system, the context of training, accreditation standards, the network of professional organizations and some of the possible future directions for family therapy. Finally, recently produced Romanian films are suggested as a medium for getting acquainted with the complex dilemmas faced by contemporary Romanian families.     

Structural Family Therapy

Research studies show that Chinese communities in the United States are in need of mental health services. Structural family therapy offers an effective model for treating families in need of therapy. This article describes why and how the model can be applied.     

Integrative Family Therapy

This paper describes an integrative approach to marital and family therapy in which psychodynamic (particularly object relations), family systems, and behavioral (particularly cognitive–behavioral) theory are blended in a flexible and tailored therapeutic approach. Human personality in its most significant contexts is a consistent focus. Background factors in the development to the approach and illustrative case materials are included.