Introducing research methods and reflexivity into family therapy training

Research training does not always sit easily with family therapy trainees due to the perceived difficulty of the terrain and the mismatch between the primacy given to research and their developing expertise in the clinical work. Despite these tensions, research forms a core component to advanced training and is a requisite module for students completing an M.Sc. Following the provision of suboptimal teaching in research methods for M.Sc. candidates, a substantial redesign of the course was undertaken, taking into account the context of students' learning. This paper reports on the contextual influences on this new approach, and outlines the key pedagogical strategies that support student learning within the formal teaching sessions and beyond. We present a summary of the outcomes so far.     

Using relational reflexivity as a resource in teaching family therapy

In this paper we talk about creating coherence and transparency in the relationships between teacher, model of adult learning and subject taught. We describe how we have made connections between adult learning theory and family therapy to generate resources for action in teaching on the qualifying level course at Northumbria University. Using a recent teaching session and the voices of trainees, we illustrate these connections with an example of teaching about relational reflexivity, using methods which enabled us to generate reflexive ‘flow’ in the learning context.     

Patterns of learning in family therapy training

This study presents the results of an evaluation of two cohorts of trainees who had completed a 2-year training program in family therapy. The 15 trainees were assessed in the areas of perceptual/conceptual, intervention/executive skills and personal development both pre- and post-training. Although the group results showed skill acquisition in all areas assessed, the individual results revealed a complexity in performance glossed over by the group analysis. Trainees' learning commenced from different baselines, advanced at different rates, and there was a marked discrepancy between self-reports of improvements (or otherwise) and the results of the observer-rated measures. We recommend that increasing attention be paid to individual differences in learning styles in training and in evaluation.     

Contrasting four major family therapy paradigms: implications for family therapy training

Four major paradigms of family therapy are contrasted: affective-experiential, structural, strategic and Milan. The differences are defined according to the way in which therapists think and behave in relation to their premises about change, and they are discussed under the following headings: historical roots and understanding of symptom formation; therapists' stance and techniques used in change; focus, goals and locus of change; and time perspective in change. Some suggestions are made with regard to training family therapists based on the differences that emerge when contrasting these models of family therapy.     

Trainee perspectives on their family therapy training

Although research into family therapy training is increasing it has so far mostly focused on the process of the teaching and acquisition of certain concepts and skills. In contrast, the experience of training as family therapists has rarely been investigated. This paper reports on the impact of family therapy training at one training institution in the UK on the personal, relational and professional identities of trainees. Six family therapy trainees were interviewed using semi‐structured interviews at regular intervals over a period of approximately twenty months. Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed to analyse the interviews. The results suggest that participants often found the experience of training as a family therapist overwhelming and de‐skilling, but that it nevertheless provoked a re‐evaluation of some of their established personal, relational and professional identities. In many cases these re‐evaluations seemed to have preceded a process of individuation, of assuming a different or more complex identity.     

Application of family therapy theory to complex social issues: using the WebQuest in family therapy training

This paper describes how the WebQuest is used to foster critical thinking and application of theory to complex social problems in a Master's level class on contemporary family therapy theories. The issue of child trafficking and prostitution is explored through the web‐based inquiry learning where scaffold learning is provided. Scaffolding includes resource links and guidance on cognitive and social skills, which are provided to facilitate the learner's development. The WebQuest design includes the task, the process and the evaluation rubrics. Student feedback on the WebQuest was positive and included increased motivation in learning, critical thinking and global awareness.     

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.     

Family-of-origin work and family therapy skills training: both-and.

Since the inception of field, theoreticians and teachers of family therapy have advocated for either problem-solving, skill-based training, or transgenerational training that emphasizes the therapist's own family-of-origin work. This article proposes an end to these polarized positions and argues for both-and, that is, a model of training that integrates the trainee's own family-of-origin work with live supervision and skills training. A family-of-origin curriculum designed for this purpose is described.     

Family psychopathology: Cross training graduate marital and family therapy students in family assessment and psychiatric nosology

The structure of a course entitled Family Therapy with Major Psychopathology taught annually in the Mercer University Graduate Marriage and Family Therapy Program is presented. An epistemological presentation regarding the interface of psychiatric nosology and family systems assessment is discussed. Methods of diagnosing and assessing dysfunctional family systems are presented and training in individual psychiatric nosology is discussed, with particular attention given to family systems dysfunction as an etiological factor in the development of individual psychopathology. Learning techniques are discussed including lecture, discussion, case presentations, readings, and testing methods.     

Which skills how: options for family therapy training

This paper looks at some of the issues associated with attempting to provide training in family therapy on a low budget of time and money. It also considers some more general points to do with providing training. The more extensive programmes referred to which take place in the U.S.A. are not yet viable in the U.K. It is not suggested that they should be copied, since professional cultures differ, but some learning can usefully take place. The aims and methods of teaching on introductory and intermediate low budget short courses are described and compared, and some vignettes given in order to propose ways of making such training effective. Course outlines and trainee evaluation of such training are given in the appendices.     

Multiple theoretical approaches to supervision: choices in family therapy training

The supervision techniques used in structural, strategic, family-of-origin, and experiential family therapy training are discussed and compared, with emphasis on the isomorphism between supervision and therapy in each school. The usefulness of each supervisory model is related to supervisees' needs at different levels of training. Recommendations are made about the sequence of family therapy training, including the utility of eclectic versus purist family therapy training programs for trainees at different levels of experience.     

A training program for family psychology: Evaluation,prevention and therapy

Abstract

Family psychology differs from family therapy on a variety of dimensions. Philosophically, family psychology emphasizes the relationship of the individual to the family rather than considering the family as a system, deemphasizing the individual, as in systems family therapy. In addition, family psychology is interested in the whole spectrum of functionality-dysfunctionality, while family therapy is interested mainly in dysfunctional families. Substantively, in terms of differences in training, family psychology stresses the importance of theory testing, evaluation of process and outcome of interventions, and prevention with functional or at-risk families. An academic curriculum in family psychology, which has been operational at Georgia State University for the last 10 years, is presented. Clinical training follows a gradual approach, starting with relatively simple Structured Enrichment, progressing to more complex training in Covenant Contracting and Systematic Homework Assignments, and finally family therapy.     

The state of the art of training in systemic family therapy in Switzerland

This article presents a training program in systemic therapy with families and couples. Our training institute was founded by an interdisciplinary group of psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists, and social workers in 1987 in Meilen (Zürich), Switzerland, and has from the beginning been connected to the field of family therapy in Europe and the United States. The specific organization of our institute, our training program, and the theoretical base of the training concept are highlighted. Our multidimensional treatment and training model is grounded in a variety of conceptual frameworks and inspired by the tradition of Enlightenment in European philosophy. We pay special attention to the personal and professional development of the emerging family therapist.     

Chance operations in training: a participatory format for introducing dialogical family therapy

Presenting dialogical approaches to therapy calls for training approaches that are themselves participatory and dialogical. The use of chance operations is one way of enhancing an interactive and co‐constructive learning process.     

Raids upon the random in family therapy training: Discovering what becomes significant

How do you provide family therapy training in a primarily rural state with limited resources? A model for training therapists and supervisors that well may offer guidance to other states that face such a challenge is described here. A meta supervision approach over long distance was used in the three-year project that is described in this paper. Self-reports from the 31 participants who completed the program reveal some interesting positive reactions.     

Designed experience: a multiple, goal-directed training program in family therapy.

A family-therapy training program, one of three main branches of the "Boston model," is described in detail. Salient features of the program include planned integration of a multiplicity of experiential and cognitive learning modes; grounding in a unified, theoretical framework that is neither eclectic nor limited to a single school of thought; focus on nonpathological process in families; and systematic structuring in terms of specific, articulated, training objectives. The goal-directed design process by which training units are developed is explained.