Theory and Method of Marriage Therapy in Contemporary Africa

This paper describes the theory and practice of marriage therapy in use by the author in his marital therapy process across two regions of Africa. The approach is grounded on an inclusive theoretical perspective inspired by the notion of the basic virtues of a healthy marriage as understood in Africa, and the place of the role theory approach in intervening between opposing parties. The theme developed is that a viable contemporary African marriage therapy practice is derivable from this indigenous model. The major discussion highlights the key guiding orientations and processes in implementing such a practice. A comparative view of the Euro-American emphasis in couple therapy is presented as a background for identifying the difference between the Western and the African perspectives.An initial version of the paper was presented as a Guest Lecture to the members of Staff and Graduate Students of the School of Psychology of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in Durban, South Africa. The author is grateful to Prof. Inge Petersen and her team of staff of the school for their invitation and encouragement.     

Work and Family Conflict: An Often Overlooked Issue in Couple and Family Therapy

Despite the systemic interaction, family-based journals, as well as intake and assessment forms most frequently used by couple and family therapists (CFTs), have given a limited amount of attention to the issue of work and family conflict. Moreover, a review of the literature indicated that many CFTs perceive themselves as inadequately prepared to assist couples and families with work and family conflict. Addressing this apparent limitation, the present study identified various work stressors that contributed to family conflict (WFC), and the family stressors that contributed to work conflict (FWC). Results revealed significant predictors of WFC and FWC. Implications for CFTs and recommendations for changes in academic training and supervision are provided. The authors would like to thank Dr. Gary Bischof, Associate Professor of Counselor Education and Marriage and Family Therapy program Director at Western Michigan University, for editorial comments made on a previous version of this paper.     

On Becoming a Profession: The Growth of Marriage and Family Therapy in India*

The practice of couple and family therapy has a long history in India. This article tracks some of the people, places, and contexts associated with the growth of marriage and family therapy (MFT) as a profession in the Indian context. Two of the authors outline their own introduction to MFT and work within this field in different cities in India in the last two decades. Based on their professional experiences and a pilot study conducted in Chennai, the authors document the needs of providers in the areas of systems-based therapy training and the practice of MFT. The role of the Indian Association for Family Therapy (IAFT) and suggestions for the future growth of the field are also highlighted. Mudita Rastogi, PhD, Professor, Illinois School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University, 1000 Plaza Drive Schaumburg, IL 60173 (MuditaRastogi@hotmail.com). Rajeswari Natrajan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Alliant International University, 2500 Michelson Drive, Suite 250, Irvine, CA 92612-1548. Volker Thomas, PhD, Associate Professor, Purdue University, 1200 West State Street, Fowler Memorial House, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1269. *Portions of this paper are based on Rajeswari Natrajan’s dissertation at Purdue University. **Rastogi and Natrajan share first authorship for this paper.     

Neutrality And Feminist Perspective: Can They Co-Exist In Family Therapy?

An argument is forwarded for the integration of feminist and systemic perspectives, specifically focusing on neutrality. The position taken is that both feminist principles and systemic practice have indispensable merits when applied to relationship-oriented therapy. Issues of abuse in family therapy are presented by promotion of a view that judgment against the abuser and a neutral investigative process can both be achieved. A neutral stance and circularity contribute to process maps, hypothesis generation, and gaining influence with all family members. Cecchin's updated perspective of neutrality as curiosity about multiple perspectives is emphasized. A case example demonstrates integration of neutrality and a feminist perspective.     

Relationship of Attachment Style to Personality Factors and Family Interaction Patterns

This study investigated the relationships among attachment, personality style, and family interaction patterns. The results revealed that avoidant attachment style was associated with indirect affect expression as measured by somatic complaints, social isolation, family disengagement, and family conflict avoidance. Anxious/ambivalent style was associated with more overt expression of depression and anxiety. Family factors were not significantly related to either the anxious/ambivalent or secure styles. The implications and potential therapy benefits for use of attachment theory in family therapy and directions for future research are also addressed. Marci Leveridge, PhD, is a Licensed Health Service Provider and private practitioner in Oklahoma City. Cal Stoltenberg, PhD, is Professor, Counseling Psychology Program, University of Oklahoma, Department of Educational Psychology, 820 Van Vleet Oval, Room 321, Norman, OK 73019-2041 (cstoltenberg@ou.edu). Denise Beesley, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Oklahoma.     

Consultation with the Z Family's Technology Business: A Weekend Retreat

Family business consultation is an expanding enterprise and constitutes an interesting area of practice for psychologists drawn from industrial/organizational psychology, clinical psychology, and family psychology. This paper provides a clinical case example of a weekend retreat established as the forum for consultation to a family owned business that was experiencing a good deal of dissension between family and non-family management team members.     

Bilateral Art: Integrating Art Therapy,Family Therapy,and Neuroscience

This paper describes the systemic use of a neurologically-based art therapy modality—bilateral art—that engages both dominant and non-dominant hands in the process of creating images in response to opposing cognitions or feelings. It describes both neuroscience and family therapy perspectives that argue for the use of bilateral art. A specific protocol for bilateral art therapy is provided along with a case study demonstrating integration of the protocol into the systemic treatment of a young family. Carole M. McNamee, PhD, is Research Professor and Clinical Associate, Director of the Arts in Healthcare Project, The Family Therapy Center, Department of Human Development, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (cmcnamee@vt.edu).     

Selective mutism in children: A structural family therapy approach to treatment

When children refuse to speak in some social settings, but can understand and speak in other settings, the diagnosis of selective mutism must be considered. A review of the literature describes the disorder, the various types of mutism, and related family dynamics. A family systems approach to treatment using structural family therapy is suggested. The case history presented illustrates one type of mutism as well as the family rules and hierarchy which appeared to be maintaining it. Structural and strategic family systems theory techniques that were used to move the family toward resolution of this problem are discussed.Diane Wolf Tatem, MA, MS, completed graduate work in marriage and family therapy at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM. She is employed at Life Management Center of El Paso's Child Development Services and also has a private practice in marriage and family therapy in El Paso, Texas. Robert L. DelCampo, PhD is a professor of family science at New Mexico State University and maintains a private practice with Associates for Marriage and Family Therapy in Las Cruces, NM. Please address all correspondence to Dr. DelCampo at Box 3470, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, 88003-3470.Appreciation is expressed to Dr. Charles Huber, New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, for his insightful critique of the final draft of this paper. This paper was presented at the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Annual Conference, January 25–29, 1995 in Dallas, TX.     

The (HI)Stories We Live by: Power/Knowledge and Family Therapy in Africa

There is a need to Africanise family therapy so as to serve the interest of local communities. Western approaches to family therapy have been accused of being irrelevant to African contexts. They are seen as forming part of a dominant scientific knowledge which invalidates local folk and cultural psychologies and thereby continuing a historical tradition of oppressive colonial power relations. This paper aims at archaeologising and evaluating such criticism by situating family therapy within different fields of knowledge that have emerged historically and are currently co-existing in Africa. The advantages and disadvantages of dominant family therapy approaches in African contexts are explored by focussing on power relations between different knowledges in Africa. It is argued that many global narratives of family therapy offer congenial companionship to many local African narratives, but that family therapists should pay more attention to local spiritual and political narratives so as to attain more legitimacy and validation by local communities.     

Values in Family Therapy Practice and Research: An Invitation for Reflection

Values have been shown to be a pervasive part of both marriage and family therapy (MFT) clinical practice and research. Yet, many therapists and researchers remain unclear about how values affect their work. This article examines the influence of Western philosophical assumptions and therapy traditions in light of current understandings of values in therapy. The influence of values in MFT research processes is similarly examined. Implications for how family therapy professionals can be more reflective and sophisticated in their understanding of values in clinical practice and scientific inquiry are discussed. Suggestions for addressing values in MFT training also are given.     

Gender, Power, and Relationship Ethics In Family Therapy Education

Awareness and sensitivity about gender issues have central positions in family therapy education. Traditionally gender relationships have been treated as either a reflection of cultural values and norms or as a dynamic of the way that men and women deal with the other sex. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that examines the meaning and enactment of gender issues in the supervisory process in family therapy. Based on that study, the authors developed a strategy for raising issues of gender equity in clinical training and describe the effects of that strategy on one practicum.Professor of Family and Child Sciences and the director of the Interdivisional Program in Marriage and Family Therapy at Florida State UniversityAn associate professor of Family and Child Sciences and the co-director of the Family Policy and Research Unit in the Family Institute at Florida State University     

How to Talk to Christian Clients About Their Spiritual Lives: Insights From Postmodern Family Therapy

Responding to literature calling for the integration of Christian spirituality and postmodern thinking, this article presents a more specific discussion of how postmodern family therapy approaches can be used to open therapy to the spiritual lives of Christian clients. In this article, postmodern family therapy approaches are described and the compatibility of postmodern family therapies and Christian thinking are examined. Finally, we see how a clinical practice based upon postmodern ideas can provide pastoral counselors with useful tools for talking with Christian clients about their spiritual lives. P. Gregg Blanton is Professor of Human Services at Montreat College. He is affiliated with the Pastoral Counseling and Growth Center in Asheville, NC.     

Memory and Narrative Healing Processes in HIV Counseling: A View from Africa

The AIDS pandemic in Africa has wreaked pain on millions of people, particularly the youth. Beyond physical symptoms, the disease destroys the emotional and psychological well-being of its victims and their families. Although psychotherapists are desperately needed, most of those in Africa have not been given sufficient training in HIV counseling. In addition, access to specific models of healing for those traumatized by the news of infection with HIV disease is hardly available. Memory healing processes, which are essential in grief work in Africa, can be combined with ritual theory within a narrative framework to provide a model for bringing healing to clients traumatized by the news of HIV infection. Augustine Nwoye, Ph.D., is presently Associate Professor, and formerly Chairman, Department of Psychology, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. A first version of the paper was presented as a Keynote Address at the International Conference in Durban, South Africa, organized by the South African Association of Marital and Family Therapy, May 2004. I thank Dr. Frida Rundell, the then President of the Association, for her invitation and hospitality.     

An Overview of Primary Care Family Psychology

This paper describes the application of family psychology to the primary care setting—in service, education and training, and scholarship. Primary care family psychology integrates family systems with biopsychosocial theory, yielding an approach that is uniquely suited to the generalist demands of primary care. This approach attends especially to the effects of relationships on health and healthcare, using the family as a potential resource to the patient just as the healthcare team is a resource to the clinician. Training opportunities in primary care family psychology are growing. The University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry fellowship is described as an example, with core primary care family psychology training in four different clinical sites: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics/Gynecology. Susan H. McDaniel is Professor of Psychiatry & Family Medicine, Director of Family Programs & the Wynne Center for Family Research in Psychiatry, and Associate Chair of Family Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York. Dr McDaniel also directs the Primary Care Family Psychology Fellowship. Picter LeRoux is Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Pediatrics, and Director of the Family Therapy Training Program in Psychiatry, University of Rochester School Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York. Dr. LeRoux also heads the Pediatric Track of the Primary Care Family Psychology Fellowship.     

The History of Family Therapy in South Africa

The history of family therapy in South Africa is presented from 1960 up to the present. The early days leading to the establishment of the South African Association of Marital and Family Therapy, national conferences, publications, national and international links are discussed.     

Ancestral Voices, Spirits, and Magic: Dance a New Dance in the Family Therapy Room

Despite important moves toward reconciliation and dreams of a rainbow nation, the culture of violence impacts upon family and community life. This article is written within this context and more specifically within the writer's personal reflections on her practice of working as a family therapist in one of South Africa's largest black townships, Mdantsane. It challenges the relevance of first world theory and practice of family therapy in the third world context but is written in the first person and thus in the form of a reflective practitioner. The usefulness of the Milan approach is questioned and a move toward a social constructionist approach is favoured. The metaphor of dance and music is used to capture the dynamic interaction between client and therapist in the search for a relevant and respectful way of working with families in the South African context.     

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.     

Developing an indicator of family function and a practicable outcome measure for systemic family and couple therapy: the SCORE

There is a need for a measure of outcome in systemic family and couples therapy (SFCT) that reflects current theory and practice. To meet the needs of SFCT practice the measure needs to use self‐report by family members, take a short time to complete and be easy to understand. The development of such a measure, called the SCORE, is reported in this article. Substantial piloting, consultation and review in terms of clinical judgement led to the construction of the SCORE 40 which has forty items about how the family functions, rated by family members over 11 years of age on a Likert scale, in addition to independent ratings of the family and its difficulties. The SCORE 40 is shown to be a viable instrument but is too substantial for everyday clinical use. In a research project to reduce and refine the measure and determine its psychometric properties the SCORE 40 was administered to 510 members of 228 families at the start of their first appointment for family therapy at clinics throughout the UK. The scale has good psychometric properties and could operate with either three or four dimensions. The analyses of these data, combined with data from a convenience sample of 126 non‐clinical families, allowed a reduction to fifteen items while retaining most of the information provided by the SCORE 40. This version is offered with three dimensions of: (1) Strengths and adaptability; (2) Overwhelmed by difficulties; and (3) Disrupted communication. It is hoped that the ready availability of the SCORE 15 will encourage routine evaluation of outcomes in clinics as well as the SCORE being used flexibly for both therapy and research.     

Enhancing Family Therapy with Analytical Psychology

In a postmodern era of changing values and competing world views this article suggests that analytical psychology can enter the epistemological debate and speak to contemporary family therapy. Key concepts and contributions are examined and highlighted with an emphasis on their relevance for enhancing the field of family therapy. Individuation is discussed in light of Jung's analytical treatment stages, which include confession, explanation, education, and transformation. The relevance for family therapy is illustrated throughout the article as each treatment stage is explicated. Jung's emphasis on the spiritual is also discussed with implications for the importance of recognizing and attending to issues of spirituality in family therapy.