A Study of the Role of Gender in Family Therapy Training

A survey of the role of gender in family therapy training programs was conducted by the Women's Task Force of the American Family Therapy Association (AFTA) in order to determine the extent to which gender issues were included in the curriculum. Questionnaires were sent to 285 programs in the U.S., Canada, and overseas. Only 19% (n = 55) of the original sample participated, with the East Coast representing the largest proportion of respondents. Findings revealed that the three most frequently addressed gender issues are: 1) the impact of cultural and economic conditions on single, female-headed families; 2) gender issues associated with wife abuse; and 3) an examination of the implications of the therapist's gender in therapy interventions. Only 27 programs identify with a feminist model or have a clearly defined sense of gender awareness. A significant finding associated with the introduction of feminist content was the difficulty of integrating gender issues with major theoretical models. Trainee resistance and lack of faculty awareness were also considered obstacles to including gender in program curriculum.     

The Geometry of the Eternal Triangle

Jealousy is often imputed to psychopathology in the protagonist. Psychodynamically, it can be attributed to an ego-deficiency, chronic insecurity, or a deflected libidinal drive. We propose that, when a primary love relationship is threatened, jealousy is best understood from a systems perspective. Three individuals create the experience of jealousy in one of them, which results in a pathogenic "eternal triangle" composed of: the jealous partner who seeks to woo and/or punish an errant mate; the architect of the triangle who takes a lover to supplement the marriage or supplant the mate; and a third person who intrudes across the boundaries of the couple. Therapists must be aware of the role of each agent in order to deal with the volatile, yet highly enduring configuration of the triangle.     

Through the Looking Glass: The Experiences of Two Family Therapy Trainees with Live Supervision

A thorough investigation of the literature pertaining to therapy supervision reveals that supervision has never been examined from the viewpoint of the trainee. This paper examines live supervision of family therapy from that viewpoint. It suggests that live supervision is a powerful and effective tool—a tool that engenders strong emotional responses.     

New Directions in Counseling Women

A revolution in counseling women is one logical outcome of recent changes in the social, political, and economic movements that have predisposed individuals to modify their life-styles and value systems. This article discusses four facets of that revolution and concludes that new counselor training programs are required to meet the needs of emerging client populations. The conclusions are supported by research that indicates (a) new sources of knowledge about the development and functioning of women clients; (b) new groups of client populations whose needs are not being met by traditional counseling strategies; (c) innovative procedures specifically tailored to the unique characteristics of these client groups; and (d) revised standards of ethical practice to ensure competent and appropriate services for all client populations. Training programs are outlined that provide guidelines for sex-fair education for all counselors and more intensively focused training for counselors who select the counseling of women clients as a career specialty.     

Consultation and the Introduction of Social Problem-Solving Groups in Schools

Social problem-solving programs for withdrawn and hyperactive children within a school context were developed and implemented in a day care center, a Montessori nursery school, a Catholic elementary school, and a Catholic high school. This article describes the program implementation for each of the four schools and some of the effects on the consultative relationship.     

The Utility of Race Labeling in Understanding Cultural Identity: A Conceptual Tool for the Social Science Practitioner

The social sciences still have marginal to poor outcomes with regard to research and service delivery for underserved populations. Yet, the past 20 years of development in training and service delivery have exerted pressure on us to become more competent in regard to multicultural effectiveness. Early approaches emphasized competence as a set of matched traits. Newer approaches emphasize that the professional must acquire key process competencies. This discussion examines competence in terms of the practitioner's worldview. It examines the history of how our frames of reference are influenced by secular intelligence and how the imprecision of the terms we commonly use especially limit our conceptual competence. Finally, a more precise multicultural lexicon is presented as a means of fostering critical thinking about competence in multicultural research and practice. Las ciencias socials todavía suelen producir resultados pobres con respecto a la investigación y la asistencia a poblaciones desfavorecidas. No obstante, los últimos veinte años de desarollo de investigación y asistencia apresuran las ciencias sociales para que se hagan más competentes con respecto a la eficacia profesional. Los primeros enfoques pusieron más énfasis en la competencia como un conjunto de cualidades. Los modernos enfoques ponen el énfasis en que el profesional tiene que adquirir habilidades clave del proceso. Este discurso examina la competencia con respecto a la visión universal del profesional. Examina la historia de cómo son influenciados nuestros marcos de referencia por información anticuada y cómo la imprecisión de los términos que usamos diariamente limitan nuestra competencia conceptual. Por último, se presenta un léxico multicultural más preciso como una manera de mejorar el pensamiento crítico sobre competencia en el terreno de la investigación y la práctica multicultural.