Coexisting and conflicting self-referential conceptual systems: A model for describing malfunctioning in the contemporary family-implications for therapy

In the proposed model, intra- and interpersonal conflicts are formalized as information-processing problems created by inconsistent self-referential conceptual systems. Three self-referential conceptual systems corresponding to the three forms of family lifetraditional-rural, industrial-nuclear, information-transactional-coexist and intermingle, creating difficulties in the coordination of interactions.Each of these ecotheories is viewed as a constellation of hierarchically-ordered, dynamic, cognitive-emotional structures which express the particular family system's perceptions of itself in relation to its environment and life in general. The model correlates in an integrative manner phenomena at the level of societal change with evolving patterns of intrapersonal and familial dynamics and provides a framework for guiding preventive and therapeutic interventions. The evolving ecotheory model presented in this work follows the metatheoretical paradigms of cognitive science, self-reference and self-organization. The attempted synthesis has been achieved in the context of the unifying concepts and principles of General Systems Theory.     

Commentary on reviews of “outcome” studies of family and marital psychotherapy

Reviews of the outcome literature in family and marital therapy are critically evaluated. The literature is equivocal in regard to the effectiveness of family therapy, particularly in comparison to alternative forms of treatment, so that statements to the effect that family therapy has demonstrated its general efficacy would not appear to be justified. Problems are identified which require solution before the efficacy of family therapy can be demonstrated.Paper presented at the 45th annual conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Chicago, Illinois, October 31, 1987.     

Families-at-risk and home-based intervention: A therapist training model

Home-based family therapy programs are designed to provide intensive family intervention for at-risk children and adolescents. However, examination of the literature reveals limited publications about training therapists for this difficult task. The purpose of this paper is to describe a therapist training model based upon a family-as-context approach to crisis intervention. Specific units covered during the course include: family-as-a-system, structural family therapy, family crisis intervention, family assessment and simulation. It is concluded that the effective prevention of placement for at-risk children and adolescents requires both a home-based family treatment program and a specific therapist training model for family intervention.John J. Zarski, PhD, is a professor in the marriage and family therapy training program at the University of Akron. Carol A. Pastore is program coordinator for the T.I.E.S. program in Canton, OH. A. Lynette Way and Richard N. Shepler are home-based therapists with T.I.E.S. The authors would like to express their appreciation to Professor John West for his helpful comments on drafts of this article.     

Gaslighting: A marital syndrome

This paper is concerned with certain male behaviors during and after their extramarital affairs and the impact of those behaviors and associated attitudes on the men's spouses. The observations cited here are drawn from clinical samples but seemingly have some features in common with what appears in nonclinical populations as well. Not only the husbands but also male therapists may contribute to the women's distress through mislabeling the women's reactions and through continuation of certain stereotypical attitudes that reflect negatively on the wife whose husband has had an affair.Gertrude Zemon Gass, PhD, and William C. Nichols, EdD, are clinical psychologists and marital and family therapists in independent practice.     

Recent developments in family behavioral marital therapy

This paper reviews recent developments in the area of behavioral marital therapy (BMT). New information is summarized regarding the long-term efficacy of BMT and the identification of predictors of positive response to treatment and to relapse. Finally, new applications of BMT techniques are reviewed (e.g., spouse-involved therapies as the sole treatment for presenting problems in which marital distress is not the primary focus such as anxiety and affective disorders).     

Essentials of psychoanalytic cure: a symposium. Introduction and survey of some previous views

Friedman (1978) suggested that implicit in the theories of the psychoanalytic process a classification of three separate trends can be identified. In the first instance, there is what could be called "understanding," whether it be intellectual or emotional. Second, there is "attachment," which refers to curative measures based on some "binding emotional reaction to the analyst." And third, and less explicitly, there is "integration," which refers to the development of a synthesis that has the effect of harmonizing parts of the mind or elevating psychic functioning to a higher level. Freud's writings embodied all three of these trends. The participants of the symposium at Marienbad, being strongly influenced by Strachey's emphasis on superego alteration through introjection, placed the greater stress on attachment. Loewald, emphasizing as he does the importance of the patient's identification with the analyst as a corrective reliving of the origins of identification in childhood, highlights attachment while also relating it to understanding. Stone and Gitelson also focused on the beneficial aspects of the affective link to the analyst and the important function served by this link in facilitating understanding of the analyst's interpretation. At the Edinburgh conference, however, aside from Gitelson and Nacht, who viewed attachment as an integrating or structuring aspect of the analytic process, the participants placed their confidence almost completely on "understanding" strictly through interpretation. In the latest debate between the proponents of self psychology and the object relations approach proposed by Kernberg, many aspects of these previous discussions and controversies have resurfaced (Friedman, 1978). Kohut, utilizing Freud's concept that links gratification and minimal frustration together as the developer of structure, relied on the empathic bond between patient and analyst as a basic component of the process of cure. Kernberg, however, relying predominantly on the conveying of insight through interpretation, is suspicious that this emphasis on attachment might reduce the clarity of understanding and in general prevent meaningful change from occurring. This sounds very much like the reaction of most participants of the Edinburgh symposium to the proposals of Gitelson.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

The role of intuition in family research: Three issues of ethics

The thesis of this chapter is that, unless one has had brain-surgery, a stroke, or has some organic deficiency, we are all whole-brained people, therapists and researchers alike. To elaborate on this point, this article is focused on the role of intuition in family research. Ethical issues in family research are viewed as similar to those in symbolic experiential family therapy. Three ethical issues, counter-transference, mutual benefit, and discovery, are discussed.Appreciation is expressed to the University of Minnesota Agriculture Experiment Station for their support of this work.     

A systemic approach to the treatment of depression with only one family member present

The purpose of the present article was to demonstrate a systemic treatment of depression for a 70 year-old woman. In this treatment, other family members were unavailable, but a family therapy systems perspective was used throughout. Results of the demonstration ABAB single case design and two year followup were suggestive of treatment effectiveness in decreasing depression. The need for additional replication of the study was noted.     

Spouse killing: The final abuse

As an alternative to the sado-masochistic interpretation of violent spouse abuse, a quasi-romantic perspective sees abuse as a consequence of intensive intimacy—even love. In this study, abuse is explained as a form of punishment of the partner who is experienced as the spoiler of the expectations, hopes and plans for a fulfilling long term, committed and attuned communion. He/she, who is perceived as the breaker of that intimate context has to be penalized, with the death-penalty being the extreme form of expression of outrage at the offense. Both husbands who killed their wives, and wives who killed their husbands, in their interviews with the author displayed a deep commitment to their marriages. This explains why their leave-takings were so violent and their exits so final. By killing the spoiler they could bury and let go of their romantic dreams! Less lethal forms of spouse abuse-battering, enslavement, etc., often have the same element of punishment of the spoiler.Roger Carl F. Bach, Ph.D. participated in the data collection and the write-up of the results.