The reach of systems theory: A clinician's retrospective, 1984–1993

One of the early family therapists provides a review and analysis of his work in the recent decade (1984–1993), providing also a structure and perspective that connects it with his earliest work in the early 1960s. His work describing the blaming process as a common source of pathogenic relating resulted in a key article in 1984, from which two streams of work and one tributary emerged. A 1984–1989 stream defined a conflict cycle by which therapists might sort out the countless conflicts heard in family interviews, thus aiding diagnosis and treatment. A 1989–1992 stream defined another form of pathogenic relating, learning to be possessed, a learned means of skillfully avoiding blame for wrongdoing which is roughly but usefully defined as The Devil made me do it. The writer concluded that if one became very good at it, learning to be possessed was excellent training for the development of delusional thinking in adolescence and afterwards. Piaget's work suggested that a case could be made for a good match between adult delusional and the problem-solving difficulties of six-to-eight year-old children. During 1992–1993, the author returned to a topic he believes he was the first to introduce and seriously address in family therapy: The problem of defining phases of family therapy (which he wrote about in the early 1970s). Rejecting the traditional beginning-middle-ending model in psychotherapy, he substituted a series of four-interview units, beginning with the engagement series and ending with termination. The early work concentrated on engagement, the recent on termination.Three decades ago family therapy hardly existed, but today it is firmly established among the major psychotherapies. There are tens of thousands of mental health workers familiar with the basic concepts and techniques of the field; and of these, there are several thousand highly skilled practitioners. The field has been both blessed and cursed by the absence of a single father. The blessing has been a rich diversity of viewpoints powerfully enunciated by quite gifted individuals and their disciples. The curse has been factionalism that at times has reached an unusual level of personal vindictiveness, and has encouraged ideologues intent on subordinating the originality and creativeness of the field.Exponents of major viewpoints in the field have, it seems to me, an obligation to continue to enunciate them clearly, to add depth and breadth to those viewpoints whenever possible. As one of the early family therapists, I believe I have such an obligation. In this article I propose to summarize, review, and analyze my work of the past decade, 1984–1993; to add a perspective whenever that may be possible; to relate the work of the recent decade to the work of past decades, whenever possible; to propose a structure for the work of the past decade, and whenever possible to relate that structure to those of previous decades. I am not a writer of books in the ordinary sense, but a writer of articles enunciating particular ideas; and often it has taken several articles to enunciate an idea to my satisfaction. In this article I will attempt to enunciate two streams which flowed from a common source, and also a tributary. It incorporates seven previously published articles.During the preparation of this article I learned of the death in October 1992 of Ernest A. Haggard, who was my chief mentor while I was a graduate student many decades ago at the University of Chicago. Thoughts about Ernie do not seem to leave me. I would like to dedicate this article to his memory.     

Husbands and wives

Woody Allen's film,Husbands and Wives, examines the relationships of two married New York couples over a period of just over a year-and-a-half. Through a variety of means, it explores the undifferentiated nature of its principle figures and what might be called the intersystemic issues between the two dyads. It also offers strong, though undeveloped, indications of previous sexual abuse in several of its female characters.My thanks to M. K. Johnson, PhD, for her thoughtful reading and suggestions.     

The marital and family therapy examination program

This report is intended to inform the reader—as fully as is compatible with examination security—about the Examination in Marital and Family Therapy used by most of the states licensing marital and family therapists in the United States. The rationale for the examination is given, its development and validation are described, and the knowledge base that it samples is provided. The examination is presented as a necessary and logical component in the development of marital and family therapy and as an essential part of the implicit contract that exists between professionals and the community.Although a great many people labored on the Examination in Marital and Family Therapy, and continue to do so, the National Exam largely was founded and developed under the leadership of Carl F. Johnson of Atlanta, Georgia.     

Countertransference as a corrective emotional experience in existential family therapy

An existential approach to family psychotherapy should be cognizant of both individual human development and family life cycle growth. In Existential Family Therapy a family developmental challenge often occurs when the developmental progression needs of one family member challenge the pace of total family developmental progression. In such a situation intervention by the therapist should occur in a way that facilitates both individual and family developmental growth. Such interventions often best occur through the creative and controlled use of the family therapist's countertransference feelings in a way that helps the family accept and master its developmental challenges. Case material is provided to illustrate the described intervention approach.     

Treating jealousy as a system dynamic in recovering alcoholic families: An application of the social network model of recovery

Jealousy often interferes with the recovery process for alcoholic families. Recovery for such families requires that external boundaries shift from rigid and closed to open and more permeable. Jealousy often erupts as families struggle with shifting boundaries. When jealousy is recognized as a system dynamic, necessary to the process of recovery, it is manageable. The key to the treatment of jealousy in recovering families is recognizing the crucial role of boundaries in both the development and recovery processes.     

Learning symbolic-experiential therapy: One approach

This paper is intended to serve as a stimulus to the thinking of students regarding ways in which they might better organize their symbolic training experiences. It illustrates how one supervisee derived a conceptual framework from the literature that made it easier to track process events and organize her training experiences. The authors believe it is important to discover ways to facilitate the learning process without operationalizing the approach.director of training and research and professor of family therapy in the same department.     

THE COPYING OF UPRIGHT AND TILTED SQUARES BY SWAZI CHILDREN AND ADULTS

Children aged 5–12, and adults from a rural area of Swaziland, along with urban based adults were assessed on their copying ability for a square orientated in two ways, squarely and obliquely; and under five different conditions. The children and rural adults experienced significant difficulties in copying the obliquely orientated shape, while the urban adults produced the shape without difficulty, although they all easily perceived the shapes and programmed the required movements. The results indicate that the process of planning the fine movements for drawing is learned, improves with age, and practice is necessary. Where planning is more complex, in the production and combination of oblique lines, it appears that the lack of practice in Swazi rural schools, and generally little requirement to use the skills, results in a delay of those particular drawing abilities.     

PARENT EDUCATION PROJECT III: INCREASING AFFECTION AND RESPONSIVITY IN DEVELOPMENTALLY HANDICAPPED MOTHERS: COMPONENT ANALYSIS,GENERALIZATION, AND EFFECTS ON CHILD LANGUAGE

We evaluated the effects of a parent training program consisting of verbal instruction, modeling, and feedback on the affection and responsivity of 3 developmentally handicapped mothers towards their children. The results indicated the following: First, the training package increased maternal physical affection, praise, and imitation of child vocalizations. These parenting skills increased to levels found in comparison groups of nonhandicapped mothers. Second, the training package was more effective than verbal instruction alone, the latter being the predominant method presently used by social service workers. Third, most maternal gains were maintained over a 3- to 18-month follow-up period, although one mother required a reinforced maintenance procedure. Fourth, instructing mothers to generalize served to increase the generalization of newly acquired skills from play times (the training context) to child-care tasks (e.g., diapering, feeding). Fifth, teaching the parents to imitate child vocalizations was related to gains in both the frequency and quality of verbal behavior of the two language delayed children as measured by standardized developmental tests and in vivo comparisons with age-matched children (who had nonhandicapped parents). These results show that behavioral instruction can improve important child-rearing skills of developmentally handicapped mothers, with corresponding benefits to their children.     

Learning to be possessed as a form of pathogenic relating and a cause of certain delusions

A form of pathogenic relating observed frequently by the author in family interviews is described in which it is communicated that a member has acted as if possessed by evil forces. This form of pathogenic relating is termed learning to be possessed. A number of illustrations are provided of the way this learning takes place beginning in childhood; how the so-called victim can gain insight into the process so that he or she is spared the worst penalties for impulsive, aggressive, or irrational behavior; but how the insight may be a cause of delusions, particularly persecutory or paranoid delusions, that become fixed. A comparison is made with the psychoanalytic theory of paranoid delusion, because that appears to be the only extant theory with which a comparison can be made.     

Dysfunctional isolation in the elderly: Increasing marital and family closeness through improved communication

Unique developmental crises in old age may lead to social withdrawal that negatively affects the individual and his/her marital and family relationships. Without an awareness of these aging dynamics, the therapist can inadvertently perpetuate these distancing behaviors which can exacerbate marital and family conflict. This paper discusses certain developmental crises which can result in increased isolation for the older adult, and suggests therapeutic interventions to facilitate increased closeness among family members.