Multiple family therapy: an overview

In recent years there has been increased interest in working with groups of families systemically. Multiple family therapy is applied in different settings and to a whole range of different presentations. These include work with multi-problem families; with schools, parents and pupils; with adult mentally ill individuals and their families; and with eating-disordered teenagers and their families. Principles and aims of multiple family therapy are presented, specific projects described and trends for future work outlined.     

Attachment within family systems: An overview

A family systems approach provides a context for the development and maintenance of dyadic attachment relationships. An attachment approach provides a focus on the expression of and response to attachment behavior within a family. Uniting the two approaches has implications for both research and intervention. Characteristics of attachment theory and family systems theory are briefly outlined: Both involve systemic thinking. Different styles of interacting at the level of the family as a whole, working models of relationships, and dyadic interactions appear to correspond in a coherent way. Further research is needed in order to identify which dimensions of family functioning are relevant to the development of secure attachments, and how the relevant dimensions may change with age and stage in the family life cycle. This will provide targets for preventive interventions, with the development of secure relationships as a primary goal.     

The McMaster family therapy outcome study: an overview of methods and results

A multifaceted outcome design was used to investigate the results of brief, system-oriented family therapy. The present report describes the methods used and provides an, overview of clients' status on a variety of outcome measures. Treatment was brief and involved the entire family in most cases. Therapists varied in discipline (psychiatry, social work, psychology or nursing) and experience (students to very senior status). A variety of measures were obtained at the beginning of treatment, at treatment closure, or after a six month follow-up. Independent interviewers conducted the six month follow-up. Measures were obtained regarding the parents' and children's level of intellectual functioning, children's academic achievement, and disruptive school behaviour. Therapists' ratings of the families' change in treatment and prognosis were also obtained at treatment closure. At follow-up, measures of the children's academic achievement and disruptive school behavior were repreated and the interviewers determined the family's satisfaction with the services they received. The results indicate that the majority of families did well on most of the measures considered. No significant change was found in terms of the children's academic performance, but there was a significant decline in their disruptive school behaviour.This project was funded by grants from the Medical Research Council of Canada, and Health and Welfare Ministry, Canada.     

Mother-blaming in family therapy: An empirical investigation

Abstract

This study tested two hypotheses derived from the feminist critique of family therapy in a sample of AAMFT members. The stimulus was a brief vignette of an initial therapy session with a family presenting a teen-aged child as the identified patient. It was hypothesized that family therapists would rate the mothers in the vignette as more dysfunctional than fathers. It was also hypothesized that mothers would be asked to bear more of the burden of change in treatment plans written by subjects. Neither hypothesis was supported. However, respondents did rate the concerned parent, regardless of sex, as more dysfunctional. Since this is a role often occupied by women, this finding may indicate some gender bias.     

EMDR therapy: An overview of its development and mechanisms of action

IntroductionThis article examines the history and development of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), from Dr. Francine Shapiro's original discovery in 1987, to current findings and future directions for research and clinical practice.Elements of the literatureAn overview is provided of significant milestones in the evolution of EMDR over the first 20 years, including key events, research and scientific publications, and humanitarian efforts. The authors also describe the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which is the theoretical basis of the therapy; they address the question of mechanisms of action, and EMDR's specific contribution to the field of psychotherapy.DiscussionEMDR is an integrative psychotherapy, which sees dysfunctionally stored memories as the core element of the development of psychopathology. In its view of memory, it integrates information that is sensory, cognitive, emotional and somatic in nature. The EMDR protocol looks at past events that formed the presented problem, at the present situations where the problem is experienced, and at the way, the client would like to deal with future challenges.ConclusionEMDR is a 25-year-old therapy that has accumulated a substantial body of research proving its efficiency, and is now part of many professional treatment guidelines. The research is pointing to its potentially large positive impact in the fields of mental and physical health.     

An editorial overview

Now is an excellent time to be doing research at the intersection of psychology and law. In the last few years, both the legal system and the legal academic community have taken more and more interest in the empirical findings of cognitive and social psychologists. Much of this interest has been provoked by the large number of convicted people who have been exonerated by DNA evidence. Examination of their cases reveals that most are associated with one (or more) of the following problems: bad eyewitness testimony, a false confession, or flawed forensic evidence. These issues are ones that psychologists have been investigating for years. For those of you new to this area, we recommend Elizabeth Loftus’s foundational work on so many areas of memory, Gary Wells’s work on eyewitness identification, Saul Kassin’s work on false confessions, and Reid Hastie’s work on jury decision making. All have written for both psychological and legal audiences.     

An experientially based inductive approach to learning about family therapy

Abstract

The numerous and diverse approaches to the practice of family therapy pose a critical dilemma to practicing family therapists confronted with selecting a direction of study to further enhance their own professional knowledge and skill bases. This paper describes and evaluates a five-phase training model which facilitates practitioners' choices in regard to model selection by providing them with an opportunity to compare their own therapeutic belief and action systems with those of family therapists oriented to one of three historically prominent models of family therapy.     

Re-editing family mythology during family therapy

Family mythology includes false or edited beliefs about the present which may be coupled with family legends which support those beliefs. Families are particularly likely to use their histories dys-functionally if they either see the present as an exact replication of the past or, in contrast, deny that the past has any relevance whatever. Re-editing myths involves enabling families to alter their relationships and their self perceptions. This allows a fresh exploration of the past; a process which can support and encourage further change. Case material is used to illustrate this.     

Medical family therapy: an emerging arena for family therapy

This paper describes an important recent development in American family therapy. Medical family therapy uses a biopsychosocial systems model to work with families who have a member with a chronic illness or disability. The authors maintain that family therapy has tended to embrace the mind–body split and to view itself too narrowly as a mental health specialty. Medical family therapists work collaboratively with physicians and other health professionals to help families achieve a sense of agency and communion in facing some of the greatest challenges that life brings.     

Transcultural family therapy

Conventional family therapies such as Structural, Systemic, Satirian, Adlerian and Dreikursion seem to be marked by cultural biases and give an indication of one single culture orientation. These seem to represent the cultural majority norms and values in acting as oppressive tools in a multi cultural society. Most of these therapies are derived from theories reflecting intrapsychic factors that are white middle class concepts, neglecting the multi culturaUsocia1 contexts in family therapy. “Ethnic minority families” from non Western Countries often experience more problems than families from Western Countries in the areas of education, immigration, employment and health. The cultural expectations are full of contradictions and ethnic minorities feel handicapped both socially and culturally in the task of growth and development. Western family therapy has failed to address these issues.