The formalization of family therapy training—issues and implications

This paper highlights the emerging debate, particularly evident in the U.K. and Australasia, regarding the desirability of more formalized training programmes for family therapy. The professionalization of family therapy is under way. The implications of this process for training structures, the role of the family therapist, the nature of family therapy associations and thus the ultimate goals of family therapy are summarized. Alternative models of training structures, their ideological bases and the implications of these alternatives for the nature of an association and the family therapy process are then briefly discussed. In summary, some priorities for a desired model of family therapy training are listed for discussion.     

箱庭疗法应用于家庭治疗的理论背景与临床实践

心理咨询与治疗领域出现了整合的趋势,将箱庭疗法应用于家庭治疗是这一趋势下的成功尝试。箱庭疗法应用于家庭治疗的理论背景是家庭治疗与游戏治疗的整合以及箱庭疗法在团体治疗中的应用。箱庭疗法应用于家庭治疗的临床实践包括家庭评估、家庭治疗、夫妻治疗、家庭治疗师督导,这些临床实践的开展为儿童青少年心理咨询与治疗方法的发展提供了有益的启示。     

Family Therapy in France: A Brief Overview

The major issues in contemporary family therapy in France are described: Difficult beginnings, the practice of family therapy today, training and professionalisation, organization for family therapy, journals and publishing, and perspectives for family therapy in France.A psychiatrist, Head of Hospital Psychiatric and Mental Health Center near Paris (Ville Evrard. France 93330) and a family therapist     

Toward an integration of child and family therapy

Current forms of treatment for the symptomatic child are reviewed and analyzed. There are four general approaches to treatment: individual child psychotherapy, conjoint parent-child psychotherapy and counseling, parent therapy and counseling, and conjoint family therapy. Each approach has certain strengths, but in-and-of itself is an incomplete treatment mode. An integration of child and family therapy is recommended, and recent attempts at this integration are described. These include approaches which work within the framework of conjoint family therapy and those which provide concurrent child and family therapy.     

Development of Family Therapy in Ireland

In Ireland family therapy is a small profession, with under 200 registered therapists. The Irish family therapy movement began in the mid-1970s. By 1980 the Family Therapy Network of Ireland in the Republic of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Branch of the UK Association Family therapy had been founded. At present there are three main family therapy training centers in Ireland: two in the south (the Mater University Hospital, affiliated to University College Dublin and Clanwilliam Institute) and one in the north (at Queen’s University Belfast). There is no statutory registration and licensing of family therapists in Ireland. Accredited professional family therapy programs in Ireland are 4-year part-time courses culminating in masters level qualifications. A primary degree in medicine, nursing, psychology, social science or education is a prerequisite for entry. Family therapists in Ireland work in both private practice and the public health service. Most family therapists in the public sector are employed as social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists or nurses, and conduct family therapy as part of their broader professional roles. Couple therapy in Ireland is provided by family therapists, and also by voluntary couple counselors based in networks of local centers, some of which were originally religiously affiliated, without a formal connection to national family therapy associations. The three major future challenges for Irish family therapy are creating a research infrastructure, developing a career structure in the public health service, and introducing statutory registration.     

The impact of structural family therapy training on conceptual and executive therapy skills

The importance of empirical evaluations of family therapy training is gaining increased recognition. This study reports the results of a controlled assessment of a training seminar in structural family therapy. Changes in the conceptual and executive skills of 44 therapy trainees (22 family trainees and 22 controls) were assessed over a 16-week period using repertory grid and videotaped therapy simulation techniques. Results indicated significant conceptual gains in family therapy trainees, but only among those with little previous exposure to family training. Differences in the overall number as well as the type of interventions were also noted. Results generally supported the predicted impact of therapy training, but left unanswered questions regarding the unique impact of family therapy training over individual training. These qualifications are discussed and directions for future work are highlighted.     

International Family Therapy: A View from Kyoto, Japan

"International family therapy" is an emergent field within (or overarching) the field of family therapy. At this stage, it can be described as the collecting and sharing of experiences by family therapists from different countries. Recent publications (7) gather information principally from Western cultures in which systemic family therapy has grown over the past thirty years. Japan is of particular interest to Western practitioners because it is a highly successful, post-industrial culture that differs markedly from the West. Familiar family therapy interventions often work for unfamiliar reasons, and different goals are often needed in order to respond to apparently similar family problems. An expanded sense of choice around strategies for family life and family therapy that such diversity implies is the primary contribution that this maturing, international family therapy movement can make to family therapy.     

Family therapy research: Comment on “research as a family therapy intervention technique”

Wright's emphasis on and illustration of the use of family therapy research as a unique intervention technique for therapy is an important contribution to the practice literature. Equally important, however, is the isomorphic shift in focus of the family therapy researcher. Rather than focusing only on process or outcome research, family therapists should become more interested in their clients as research subjects. Though rarely discussed in the family therapy literature, the competencies of family therapists as researchers and the utility of research in a family therapy context is critical to being a well-rounded professional. Examples are provided of how this emphasis is being introduced in a PhD family therapy program.     

Maps and mapmaking: Developing the systemic paradigm of family functioning

This paper presents the Systemic Paradigm of Family Functioning (SPFF) as an organizing framework for integrating models of family therapy. Therapists can use the SPFF to understand and integrate existing models of family therapy and to create their own personal models of family therapy. The SPFF framework highlights the interrelationships among the four generic models which dominate the field of family therapy. Personal models of family therapy are based on maps of family functioning derived from one of these more generic models.     

Rationale and directions for an increased emphasis on the therapeutic relationship in family therapy

This paper argues the need for an increased emphasis on the therapeutic relationship in family therapy. The ways in which the field of family therapy has eschewed the importance of the therapeutic relationship are discussed. Therapeutic alliance research from the field of individual psychotherapy and research on the importance of relationship factors to family therapy are reviewed. Suggestions for family therapy theory, practice, and research are presented.An earlier version of this article was presented at the 1992 Western Canadian Conference on Family Practice.     

A Review of Family Therapy as an Effective Intervention for Anorexia Nervosa in Adolescents

This review examines family therapy as an effective intervention for Anorexia Nervosa (AN) in adolescents. An electronic and manual literature search was conducted. Studies pertaining to family therapy in the treatment of AN and specifically, the Maudsley Method/Family-Based Treatment were identified. A limited number of randomized control trials exist implicating family therapy. Of the existent studies, methodological limitations pertaining to small, homogeneous sample sizes are evident. Despite the limited number of studies, family therapy appears to illustrate probable efficacy. Additional research and funding are necessary to fully support family therapy in the treatment of AN in adolescents.     

The Development of Family Therapy Practice and Training in Taiwan: A Review and Prospects for the Future

This thesis reviews the development of family therapy in Taiwan since its commence in 1969 to today, with two focuses on the status quo in practice and in training. The practice of family therapy in local hospitals, social welfare agencies and community counseling institutes are reviewed respectively, with a discussion of the challenges local family therapists encounter. The status quo of local family therapy trainings is also examined in terms of trainers, programs, professional organizations and licensure. The limitations and possible hindrances to the current professional training system are explored, and finally suggestions for the advance of local family therapy professional development in Taiwan are proposed.     

Reflections on Ways to Create a Safe Therapeutic Culture for Children in Family Therapy

Although a large number of publications in the family therapy field stress the importance of children in family therapy, some authors report that, in practice, many family therapists do not actively involve children in their therapies. In this article, I reflect on the experiential reasons for this exclusion of children. I will consider the importance of the use of the self of the therapist and of the creation of a safe therapeutic culture for the child. Practical suggestions are made of ways to involve children in family therapy. Finally, these ideas are illustrated in a case example of a family therapy with an adoptive family.     

The Voices of Therapists and Children Regarding the Inclusion of Children in Family Therapy: A Systematic Research Synthesis

In 1970, Nathan Ackerman challenged the field of marriage and family therapy to actively involve young children in the family therapy process. How has the field of marriage and family therapy responded to his challenge? Using a systematic research synthesis to review and critique the non-empirical and empirical literature in the area of children in family therapy, the author discovered that the field of marriage and family therapy has not responded to Ackerman's challenge in the way he may have hoped for nearly three decades ago. A summary of the literature's findings is provided and recommendations for future research, as well as implications, for the field of marriage and family therapy are discussed.     

Couple and Family Therapy Within the Current Pan-Canadian Context

Canadians take numerous approaches to couple and family therapy due in part to Canada’s diversity of people and geography, as well as the influence of the health care context, a central facet of our national identity. Tracing back to Nathan Epstein, the founder of family therapy in Canada, there continues to be a strong tradition of couple and family therapy within Canada which has international reach. Formal training in family therapy, as well as couple/marital therapy occurs largely outside of the scope of degree granting programs and university settings. The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy has a strong presence in Canada, with six divisions across the country. Popular models of practice for Canada’s couple and family therapists include cognitive-behavioral therapy, solution-focused therapy, narrative therapy, emotionally-focused therapy, and Bowenian/intergenerational therapy. A growing number of training opportunities are becoming available across Canada, and the practice of couple and family therapy is becoming institutionalized as one of the core competencies for professions such as psychiatry. In this article, we examine the context of family therapy in Canada by examining its history, the unique accreditation standards, qualifications and organizations associated with family therapy, the relationship between couple and family therapy, and future directions for this field of practice.     

Intergenerational Relations and Family Therapy Research'' What We Can Learn from Other Disciplines

Although there are a number of theories regarding intergenerational relations within the family therapy field, few of these theories have been empirically examined. Indeed, intergenerational family research is in its infancy in the family therapy world. This article explores the literature on intergenerational relations within the sociological and psychosociological disciplines in order to understand what is known, and how this information could assist family therapy researchers interested in developing systematic studies of intergenerational relations for the family therapy field.     

Management of religious issues in family therapy

Social scientists have long emphasized the reciprocal relationship between family and religion in society. Yet the family therapy literature is virtually devoid of consideration of religious variables in family life and function. Four major psychosocial aspects of religion in family life are discussed: sacralization, coalitions with the supernatural, religious conflict as a projection of family conflict, and family conflict as a projection of religious conflict. Clinical issues presented include: family therapy in religious and secular contexts, family religious expectations and transference, therapist religious countertransferences, religious identification in family therapy, and family therapy in different degrees of congruence or difference in religious orientation between the family and the therapist. The family therapist must learn how to correctly interpret and appropriately respond to religious issues as they appear in family life and family therapy.     

A Review of Family Therapy in Residential Settings

This article provides an overview of the history of family involvement in residential treatment as well as a synthesis of the research showing family-centered interventions and outcomes for youth in residential settings. There are many methods for engaging families in residential treatment that are discussed in the literature; however, there is a significant gap as the field has not yet identified specific family therapy approaches that demonstrate efficacy in working with youth and their families in this particular setting. A review of the literature over the past 10 years will highlight the emerging family therapy models being utilized in this setting, which include multiple-family group intervention, family-directed structural therapy, and narrative family therapy. The article will also include a discussion of three major, well-established theoretical approaches that have been found to be effective in working with youth with conduct issues and show promise in treating youth and families in the complex setting of residential treatment: brief strategic family therapy, multi systemic therapy, and functional family therapy.     

The centrality of values in families and family therapy

Values are discussed in terms of development, nature, and implications for family therapy. Clinical examples are used to demonstrate concepts and a model is presented which depicts how the various leverages utilized in family therapy relate to family values. Individual development, cultural heritage (legacy), the nuclear family system, and the contemporary context are described as factors which interact to form values. A case is made for conceptualizing values as central to family therapy relative to engaging families, intervening in families, and evaluating therapeutic impact.