A theoretical frame of reference for family systems therapy? An introduction to Luhmann's theory of social systems

The starting point for this paper is that family therapy lacks a theoretical frame of reference of its own; thus a stepwise search for such a frame of reference is described. First, social systems are defined as communication systems. Second, it is shown in what way a family can be seen as a social system. With the help of the theory of social systems of the sociologist Luhmann, a theoretical frame of reference for systems therapy is drafted. Finally, we hint at the implications such a theoretical framework could have for clinical practice.     

Culturally sensitive therapy? Examining the practice of cross‐cultural family therapy

This article is drawn from a research project that examines cross‐cultural family therapy sessions in order to consider what constitutes culturally sensitive practice. A discourse analytic approach was adopted in the analysis of three sessions from two families where the family and the therapists originated from different ethnic backgrounds. This article is based around part of the research findings connected to one of the families, and focuses upon the ways in which ‘culture’ is talked about in therapy (the term ‘culture’ will be referred to in inverted commas in order to acknowledge its complexity as is emphasized in this article). This allows for an examination of the cultural assumptions that we hold as therapists, which are enacted in therapy with effects on all participants and upon the course of the therapy. The value of qualitative research methods in examining the cultural assumptions we bring to therapy is highlighted as one way of improving culturally sensitive therapeutic practice, especially with regard to therapist reflexivity.     

Does family therapy produce change? an overview of outcome studies

Summary Families were randomly assigned to one of two forms of conjoint marital therapy: an insight-oriented treatment (n=10) or a problem-solving intervention (n=10.). The results on self-report measures of family functioning indicate that the problem-solving intervention produced more favorable changes after three months. However on long-term follow-up after a year, this more positive effect did not apparently persist, since the insight treatment group reported better results. Experienced therapists did better than inexperienced therapists in the insight treatment condition, but level of experience did not make a difference in the problem-solving intervention. A group of eight families who dropped out of the insight treatment group provided data on correlates of premature termination. Several of the practical obstacles to implementing an experimental design in a clinic setting are illustrated by the research.As we develop more sophisticated methodology, we hope that is the near future family therapy researchers will be better able to state which type of approach is more effective for whom and under what circumstances. A review of current studies of family therapy outcome research indicates that family therapy seems to be as effective as individual psychological treatment.     

How do therapists ally with adolescents in family therapy? An examination of relational control communication in early sessions

Sequential analyses examined associations between the working alliance and therapist-adolescent communication patterns in 10 Spanish cases of brief conjoint family therapy. Early sessions with strong versus problematic alliances, rated by observers, were selected for coding of relational control communication patterns. No differences were found in the frequency of exchanges, but competitive responding by the therapists (reflecting an interpersonal struggle for control) was significantly more likely in problematic alliance sessions than in strong alliance sessions. Cases in which the adolescent's alliance with the therapist remained positive from Session 1 as compared with Session 3 showed a decrease in the likelihood of competitive symmetry. Notably, when the quality of the alliance deteriorated over time, the therapists were increasingly more likely to respond to the adolescents' domineering messages in a competitive manner. Results underscore the need to avoid competitive responding in order to ally with adolescents in conjoint family treatment.     

Are the times changing? An analysis of sex-role prejudice

Sex bias was studied through evaluation of articles, in a technique modeled upon Goldberg's. Goldberg (1968) indicated that college women evaluated an article more positively when it was ascribed to a male rather than to a female author. The primary purpose of the present research was to examine a diverse sample, including subjects of both sexes and varying ages, and to determine whether sex-role attitudes have changed over time. Therefore, 64 students at the University of California, Santa Cruz, 64 students from San Jose State University, and 96 nonstudents from the San Francisco—Monterey Bay areas each evaluated six articles on several dimensions. Packets were counterbalanced for ascribed sex of author and sex of topic (male, female, or neutral). An analysis of variance yielded significant main effects for sex of subject and sex of topic. Further analyses yielded complex interactions which appeared to be primarily due to the responses of young nonstudents. The absence of an overall sex of author effect and the general pattern of data are interpreted in terms of the generalizability of research findings.Some of the results reported in this paper were presented in a symposium on sex-role research methodology at the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Los Angeles, April 1976.     

An analysis of “dignity”

The word dignity is frequently used both in clinical and philosophical discourse when referring to and describing the ideal conditions of the patient's treatment, particularly the dying patient. An exploration of the variety of meanings associated with the word dignity will note dignity's ambiguous usage and reveal instrumental concepts needed to better understand the discourse of the dying. When applied to a critique of recent and contemporary criticisms of the medical community's handling of the dying, such concepts might provide a more coherent notion of dignity. Rather than a separate construct, a death with dignity might be viewed as an interactive process among the dying and their caretakers. Together, this interdependent amalgam engages in humanizing communication aimed toward understanding the final needs and wants of the patient.     

Androgyny on the TV screen? An analysis of sex-role portrayal

Characters in a random sample of dramatic television programs representative of family time and later viewing time in 1975 and equivalent time periods in 1976 were rated on sex-role portrayal, using traits from the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI). The family time concept, which eliminated violence and sex from programs shown between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. during 1975, had a significant effect on sex-role portrayal. Male characters were portrayed in a more realistic, though still highly masculine, way than their counterparts in other time periods. Female characters were portrayed as somewhat more feminine during family time than during other viewing hours. A significant interaction effect among viewing time, type of program, and sex of character suggested that content considered acceptable for younger viewers emphasized the stereotypical female role.This research was reported in part at the meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Seattle, April 1977. The author expresses appreciation to all those individuals who assisted with the project by serving as judges and as critics, and to the anonymous reviewer who made many helpful suggestions.     

Child-oriented family therapy in China: A cross-cultural application of integrative family therapy targeting children aged 4–10

This article describes child-oriented family therapy (COF), a family therapy approach to early psychological and behavioral problems that is widely applied in northern Europe and has been adopted by countries with different cultures, such as Germany and China. This article explains the theoretical background, setting, characteristics, development and effective factors of this method and explores relevant research. In addition, the application of this method in China and reflections on its applicability to families in different cultures are presented. A clinical case is provided to illustrate the core therapeutic principles of COF. Since the application of COF interventions to families with children in Asian cultures remains understudied, the widespread availability of COF and adaptation to local conditions could facilitate training and research achievements in this field.     

Three post-Vietnam “rap/therapy” groups: An analysis

An analysis is presented of the content and process over a one year's period of time of 81 sessions with three therapy groups of help-seeking Vietnam theater veterans. Data were collected concerning the frequency and content of the symptoms and issues that were discussed, the frequency and relationship of the discussion of current life issues versus Vietnam and pre- and post-Vietnam life issues, the predominant therapeutic themes that emerged in the groups, and the kinds of therapy interventions provided. Implications are discussed regarding the DSM-III inclusionary symptom criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, and the structure and format to facilitate a combined rap and therapy group process with Vietnam veterans.The opinions of the authors do not reflect official Veterans Administration policy and should not be so construed.     

Family therapy ‘lite’? How family counsellors conceptualise their primary care family work

A number of current developments in the field potentially provide opportunities for preventative relationship and family interventions to be integrated into primary care. In this context, it is important to understand what family counselling is and how it might differ from family therapy. Thus, this paper investigates how the service of one low-intensity family counselling provider, Relate, is conceptualised and practised by counsellors on the ground. Questions about practice were posed to five focus groups of family counsellors and these were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings suggest that Relate family counselling is seen as ‘family therapy lite’, with a flexible, eclectic and integrative use of concepts and techniques within a systemic framework. Implications of this conceptualisation of family counselling for training, practice and research are discussed.     

Do young children rehearse? An individual-differences analysis

The issue of whether young children rehearse in auditory memory tasks was investigated across a series of three studies comparing individual differences in articulation rates and memory spans. Applying the principles of the working-memory model, children with faster rates of speaking should have superior memory spans if they engage in rehearsal. Two of the experiments, with 4-year-old children, failed to establish any significant association between articulation rate and memory span, although both the memory span and articulation rate procedures were found to be highly reliable in this age group A third experiment confirmed that, as expected, articulation rates and memory spans were significantly associated with one another in adult subjects. The results indicate that, contrary to recent theories of children’s short-term-memory development, 4-year-old children do not engage in subvocal rehearsal during auditory memory span tasks.     

Engaging men in family therapy: does the gender of the therapist make a difference?

The results of this exploratory Delphi study provide a beginning formulation of a gender-sensitive approach to working with men in the specialized field of couple and family therapy. The research specifically investigated what a panel of thirty-six 'expert' family therapists believed would be appropriate and effective techniques to engage men in therapy and in the process of family change. This report focuses on findings highlighting differences between what female and male therapists preferred as techniques to work with men in family therapy.     

What do Raven's Matrices measure? An analysis in terms of sex differences

Although it is sometimes claimed that Raven's Matrices provide an almost pure measure of g, there is evidence that the easier items in the Standard Progressive Matrices and in Set I of the Advanced Matrices measure a perceptual or Gestalt factor distinct from the more analytic items in the rest of the tests. There is also, however, both factor analytic and experimental evidence that these analytic items fall into two partially separate groups, distinguishable by the type of rule needed for their solution in the analysis proposed by Carpenter, Just, and Schell (1990) [Carpenter, P. A., Just, M. A., Schell, P. (1990). What one intelligence test measures: A theoretical account of the processing in the Raven's Progressive Matrices Test. Psychological Review, 97, 404–431]. Re-analysis of published data suggests a new source of evidence for this further distinction: males do better than females on items requiring an addition/subtraction or distribution of two rule, but there is no sex difference on items requiring pairwise progression or distribution of three rules. A specially designed experiment confirmed this pattern of results.     

Are the times changing? An analysis of gender differences in sexual graffiti

This study examined the assumption that the gender gap has narrowed over time in the writing of sexual graffiti from male and female bathrooms of five colleges and universities in 1972 and 1984. In both studies, female graffiti, in relation to male graffiti, made fewer sexual references. In addition, female graffiti were more socially acceptable in regard to langauge and content. Overall, these results suggest that the decade of the 1970s may have had little or no impact on the pattern of gender differences in the sexual content and social acceptability of wall writings.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, August 26, 1985.     

Whatever happened to biology? Reconnecting family therapy with its evolutionary origins

This article argues for a rapprochement between family therapy and biological science. In spite of the prevailing tendency nowadays to write biology out of the story of family therapy, it has played a central historical and conceptual role in the origin of our discipline. Family therapists may have done themselves and their patients a disservice by distancing themselves from the discipline of biology; ignorance of modern biological ideas may be a serious handicap in the practice of therapy. The gap between contemporary biology and the kind of postmodern thinking currently favoured by many therapists is not as great as it appears, and may be bridged.