Dorothy S. Becvar, Ph.D., is a Professor in the School of Social Work at Saint Louis University. A Licensed Marital and Family Therapist and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she also has maintained a private practice, either full or part-time, since 1980 and is President/CEO of The Haelan Centers®, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to facilitating growth and wholeness in body, mind and spirit. Dorothy has published extensively and in addition to many journal articles and book chapters is the author of three books, and the editor of two books. With her husband, Raphael J. Becvar, she has co-authored four books and is co-editor with others of two additional books. She has just completed a five-year term as Editor of Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal, and is a member of the editorial boards of several professional journals.Raphael J. (Ray) Becvar received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Minnesota. He has been a Professor at St. Louis University, Texas Tech University, Lindenwood University, and the University of Louisiana, Monroe where he held the Distinguished Scholar’s Endowed Chair in Marital and Family Therapy. At St. Louis University and the University of Louisiana, Monroe he developed doctoral programs in Marital and Family Therapy. He has been a part-time faculty member of Walden University since 2000 in Health and Human Services. Ray’s philosophical/theoretical interests include systems theory, postmodernism, social constructionism, and constructivism as applied to work in Health and Human Services, Marriage and Family Therapy and Education. He has authored/coauthored 10 books as well as numerous articles in professional and popular journals. He maintains a small private practice specializing in Marital and Family Therapy.

"The organization was helpful. I especially liked the questions at the end of each chapter; they should increase students' abilities to apply the material to case examples." -Farrah Hughes, Francis Marion University "It is a great source book for me as an educator, therapist and researcher." -Cynthia Faulkner, Morehead State University

• Found in this Section:1. Brief Table of Contents2. Full Table of Contents 1. BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTSPreface PART 1 THE SYSTEMIC FRAMEWORK Chapter 1: Two Different WorldviewsChapter 2: The Historical PerspectiveChapter 3: The Paradigmatic Shift of Systems TheoryChapter 4: Postmodernism and Family TherapyChapter 5: The Family: Process, Development, and ContextPART 2 THE PRACTICE OF FAMILY THERAPYChapter 6: Psychodynamic ApproachesChapter 7: Natural Systems TheoryChapter 8: Experiential ApproachesChapter 9: The Structural ApproachChapter 10: Communication ApproachesChapter 11: Strategic Approaches and the Milan InfluenceChapter 12: Behavioral/Cognitive ApproachesChapter 13: Postmodern ApproachesPART 3 THE SYSTEMIC PRACTITIONER Chapter 14: Family AssessmentChapter 15: Therapeutic Intervention/PerturbationChapter 16: Training and SupervisionChapter 17: Research in Family TherapyChapter 18: Epistemological Challenges: Thinking About Our ThinkingReferences Name Index Subject Index 2. FULL TABLE OF CONTENTSPreface PART 1 THE SYSTEMIC FRAMEWORK Chapter 1: Two Different Worldviews The Framework of Individual PsychologyThe Framework of Systemic Family TherapyBasic Concepts of Systems Theory and CyberneticsFamily Therapy or Relationship Therapy?SummaryPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 2: The Historical Perspective Planting the Seeds: The 1940sCyberneticsDevelopment of Interdisciplinary ApproachesGregory BatesonPutting Down Roots: The 1950sBateson (Continued)The Double-Bind HypothesisNathan AckermanMurray BowenCarl WhitakerTheodore LidzLyman WynneIvan Boszormenyi-NagyJohn Elderkin BellChristian F. MidelfortOverview of the 1950sThe Plant Begins to Bud: The 1960sParadigm ShiftThe MRISalvador MinuchinOther DevelopmentsBlossom Time: The 1970sPsychodynamic ApproachesNatural Systems TheoryExperiential ApproachesStructural ApproachesStrategic ApproachesCommunication ApproachesBehavioral ApproachesGregory BatesonConnecting and Integrating: The 1980sOther VoicesThe Limits of HistoryControversy, Conflict, and Beyond: The 1990sThe Feminist CritiqueFamily Therapy and Family MedicineIntegration and MetaframeworksManaged CareThe Twenty-First Century: Continuing Concerns and Emerging TrendsSummaryPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 3: The Paradigmatic Shift of Systems Theory A Cybernetic EpistemologyRecursionFeedbackMorphostasis/MorphogenesisRules and BoundariesOpenness/ClosednessEntropy/NegentropyEquifinality/EquipotentialityCommunication and Information ProcessingRelationship and WholenessGoals and PurposesCybernetics of CyberneticsWholeness and Self-ReferenceOpenness and ClosednessAutopoiesisStructural DeterminismStructural Coupling and Nonpurposeful DriftEpistemology of ParticipationReality as a MultiverseSummaryPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 4: Postmodernism and Family Therapy Postmodernism in Historical PerspectiveConstructivism and Social ConstructionismDeconstruction and the Role of LanguageThe Role of the IndividualThe DebatesFirst-Order versus Second-Order TherapyPostmodernism and CyberneticsSelf-Referential Inconsistencies and Other ChallengesThe Role of the FamilySummaryPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 5: The Family: Process, Development, and Context Process DimensionsDevelopmental FrameworksContextual IssuesStructural VariationsCultural Variations/Cultural CompetenceOther Diversity IssuesEcological ConsiderationsSummaryPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsPART 2 THE PRACTICE OF FAMILY THERAPYChapter 6: Psychodynamic Approaches Ivan Boszormenyi-NagyBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectiveObject Relations Family TherapyBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 7: Natural Systems Theory Murray BowenBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 8: Experiential Approaches Carl WhitakerBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectiveWalter KemplerBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 9: The Structural Approach Basic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsStructureSubsystemsBoundariesThe Family over TimeStructural Maps of the FamilyTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsGoals of Structural TherapyThe Process of ChangeSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 10: Communication Approaches Early ResearchersDon D. JacksonJohn H. WeaklandPaul WatzlawickReview of Early ResearchBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectiveVirginia SatirBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 11: Strategic Approaches and the Milan Influence Basic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsTwo ExamplesJay HaleyMilan Systemic/Strategic TherapySystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 12: Behavioral/Cognitive Approaches Basic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsDefinitionsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsTraditional Behavioral Strategies/InterventionsCognitive—Behavioral Strategies/InterventionsFour ExamplesBehavioral Parent TrainingBehavioral Marital TherapyFunctional Family TherapyConjoint Sex TherapySystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 13: Postmodern Approaches The Reflecting Team: Tom AndersenSolution-Oriented Therapy: William O’HanlonSolution-Focused Therapy: Steve de ShazerExternalization and Reauthoring Lives and Relationships: Michael White and David EpstonTherapeutic Conversations: Harlene Anderson and Harry GoolishianSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsPART 3 THE SYSTEMIC PRACTITIONER Chapter 14: Family Assessment HistoryFamily Assessment and Classification–General ModelsFamily Assessment and Classification–Scientific ApproachesFamily Assessment and Classification–Some ConcernsSystemic Analysis/Multidimensional AssessmentPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 15: Therapeutic Intervention/Perturbation A Theory of ChangeReframingParadoxical InterventionsProblem Formation/ResolutionStochastic ProcessesPerturber versus Change AgentMeaningful NoiseLanguage and WorldviewsStability and ChangeInformation and PerturbationThe Theory of Change, Meaningful Noise, and the Postmodernist PerspectiveEthical IssuesAAMFT Code of EthicsEthics and Second-Order CyberneticsPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 16: Training and Supervision Teaching and Learning the Systemic/Cybernetic PerspectiveSupervision: Modalities, Myths, and RealitiesLegal and Ethical Issues in Training and SupervisionSupervision from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 17: Research in Family Therapy Family Therapy Research in the Logical Positivist TraditionFrom Efficacy Research to Progress ResearchEvidence Based PracticeA Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodernist Consideration of Quantitative and Qualitative ResearchSystemic ConsistencyThe New PhysicsImplications for the Social SciencesImplications of a Cybernetic PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 18: Epistemological Challenges: Thinking About Our Thinking Mind and Nature/StoriesConceptual PathologiesProblems Exist “Out There”The Map Is the TerritoryDefining Differences in IsolationIndependence/Autonomy and Unilateral ControlYou Can Do Just One ThingControl Is PossibleWe Can Just ObserveThe Paradox of Being a Systemic TherapistContinuing ChallengesMore on Teaching and Learning the Cybernetic PerspectiveIn ConclusionPractice TestReferences Name Index Subject Index

Dorothy S. Becvar, Ph.D., is a Professor in the School of Social Work at Saint Louis University. A Licensed Marital and Family Therapist and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she also has maintained a private practice, either full or part-time, since 1980 and is President/CEO of The Haelan Centers®, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to facilitating growth and wholeness in body, mind and spirit. Dorothy has published extensively and in addition to many journal articles and book chapters is the author of three books, and the editor of two books. With her husband, Raphael J. Becvar, she has co-authored four books and is co-editor with others of two additional books. She has just completed a five-year term as Editor of Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal, and is a member of the editorial boards of several professional journals.Raphael J. (Ray) Becvar received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Minnesota. He has been a Professor at St. Louis University, Texas Tech University, Lindenwood University, and the University of Louisiana, Monroe where he held the Distinguished Scholar’s Endowed Chair in Marital and Family Therapy. At St. Louis University and the University of Louisiana, Monroe he developed doctoral programs in Marital and Family Therapy. He has been a part-time faculty member of Walden University since 2000 in Health and Human Services. Ray’s philosophical/theoretical interests include systems theory, postmodernism, social constructionism, and constructivism as applied to work in Health and Human Services, Marriage and Family Therapy and Education. He has authored/coauthored 10 books as well as numerous articles in professional and popular journals. He maintains a small private practice specializing in Marital and Family Therapy.

"The organization was helpful. I especially liked the questions at the end of each chapter; they should increase students' abilities to apply the material to case examples." -Farrah Hughes, Francis Marion University "It is a great source book for me as an educator, therapist and researcher." -Cynthia Faulkner, Morehead State University

• Found in this Section:1. Brief Table of Contents2. Full Table of Contents 1. BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTSPreface PART 1 THE SYSTEMIC FRAMEWORK Chapter 1: Two Different WorldviewsChapter 2: The Historical PerspectiveChapter 3: The Paradigmatic Shift of Systems TheoryChapter 4: Postmodernism and Family TherapyChapter 5: The Family: Process, Development, and ContextPART 2 THE PRACTICE OF FAMILY THERAPYChapter 6: Psychodynamic ApproachesChapter 7: Natural Systems TheoryChapter 8: Experiential ApproachesChapter 9: The Structural ApproachChapter 10: Communication ApproachesChapter 11: Strategic Approaches and the Milan InfluenceChapter 12: Behavioral/Cognitive ApproachesChapter 13: Postmodern ApproachesPART 3 THE SYSTEMIC PRACTITIONER Chapter 14: Family AssessmentChapter 15: Therapeutic Intervention/PerturbationChapter 16: Training and SupervisionChapter 17: Research in Family TherapyChapter 18: Epistemological Challenges: Thinking About Our ThinkingReferences Name Index Subject Index 2. FULL TABLE OF CONTENTSPreface PART 1 THE SYSTEMIC FRAMEWORK Chapter 1: Two Different Worldviews The Framework of Individual PsychologyThe Framework of Systemic Family TherapyBasic Concepts of Systems Theory and CyberneticsFamily Therapy or Relationship Therapy?SummaryPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 2: The Historical Perspective Planting the Seeds: The 1940sCyberneticsDevelopment of Interdisciplinary ApproachesGregory BatesonPutting Down Roots: The 1950sBateson (Continued)The Double-Bind HypothesisNathan AckermanMurray BowenCarl WhitakerTheodore LidzLyman WynneIvan Boszormenyi-NagyJohn Elderkin BellChristian F. MidelfortOverview of the 1950sThe Plant Begins to Bud: The 1960sParadigm ShiftThe MRISalvador MinuchinOther DevelopmentsBlossom Time: The 1970sPsychodynamic ApproachesNatural Systems TheoryExperiential ApproachesStructural ApproachesStrategic ApproachesCommunication ApproachesBehavioral ApproachesGregory BatesonConnecting and Integrating: The 1980sOther VoicesThe Limits of HistoryControversy, Conflict, and Beyond: The 1990sThe Feminist CritiqueFamily Therapy and Family MedicineIntegration and MetaframeworksManaged CareThe Twenty-First Century: Continuing Concerns and Emerging TrendsSummaryPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 3: The Paradigmatic Shift of Systems Theory A Cybernetic EpistemologyRecursionFeedbackMorphostasis/MorphogenesisRules and BoundariesOpenness/ClosednessEntropy/NegentropyEquifinality/EquipotentialityCommunication and Information ProcessingRelationship and WholenessGoals and PurposesCybernetics of CyberneticsWholeness and Self-ReferenceOpenness and ClosednessAutopoiesisStructural DeterminismStructural Coupling and Nonpurposeful DriftEpistemology of ParticipationReality as a MultiverseSummaryPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 4: Postmodernism and Family Therapy Postmodernism in Historical PerspectiveConstructivism and Social ConstructionismDeconstruction and the Role of LanguageThe Role of the IndividualThe DebatesFirst-Order versus Second-Order TherapyPostmodernism and CyberneticsSelf-Referential Inconsistencies and Other ChallengesThe Role of the FamilySummaryPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 5: The Family: Process, Development, and Context Process DimensionsDevelopmental FrameworksContextual IssuesStructural VariationsCultural Variations/Cultural CompetenceOther Diversity IssuesEcological ConsiderationsSummaryPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsPART 2 THE PRACTICE OF FAMILY THERAPYChapter 6: Psychodynamic Approaches Ivan Boszormenyi-NagyBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectiveObject Relations Family TherapyBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 7: Natural Systems Theory Murray BowenBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 8: Experiential Approaches Carl WhitakerBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectiveWalter KemplerBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 9: The Structural Approach Basic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsStructureSubsystemsBoundariesThe Family over TimeStructural Maps of the FamilyTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsGoals of Structural TherapyThe Process of ChangeSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 10: Communication Approaches Early ResearchersDon D. JacksonJohn H. WeaklandPaul WatzlawickReview of Early ResearchBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectiveVirginia SatirBasic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 11: Strategic Approaches and the Milan Influence Basic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsTwo ExamplesJay HaleyMilan Systemic/Strategic TherapySystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 12: Behavioral/Cognitive Approaches Basic Concepts/Theoretical ConstructsDefinitionsTheory of Health/NormalcyTherapeutic Strategies/InterventionsTraditional Behavioral Strategies/InterventionsCognitive—Behavioral Strategies/InterventionsFour ExamplesBehavioral Parent TrainingBehavioral Marital TherapyFunctional Family TherapyConjoint Sex TherapySystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 13: Postmodern Approaches The Reflecting Team: Tom AndersenSolution-Oriented Therapy: William O’HanlonSolution-Focused Therapy: Steve de ShazerExternalization and Reauthoring Lives and Relationships: Michael White and David EpstonTherapeutic Conversations: Harlene Anderson and Harry GoolishianSystemic ConsistencyQuestions and Reflections from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsPART 3 THE SYSTEMIC PRACTITIONER Chapter 14: Family Assessment HistoryFamily Assessment and Classification–General ModelsFamily Assessment and Classification–Scientific ApproachesFamily Assessment and Classification–Some ConcernsSystemic Analysis/Multidimensional AssessmentPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 15: Therapeutic Intervention/Perturbation A Theory of ChangeReframingParadoxical InterventionsProblem Formation/ResolutionStochastic ProcessesPerturber versus Change AgentMeaningful NoiseLanguage and WorldviewsStability and ChangeInformation and PerturbationThe Theory of Change, Meaningful Noise, and the Postmodernist PerspectiveEthical IssuesAAMFT Code of EthicsEthics and Second-Order CyberneticsPractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 16: Training and Supervision Teaching and Learning the Systemic/Cybernetic PerspectiveSupervision: Modalities, Myths, and RealitiesLegal and Ethical Issues in Training and SupervisionSupervision from a Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodern PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 17: Research in Family Therapy Family Therapy Research in the Logical Positivist TraditionFrom Efficacy Research to Progress ResearchEvidence Based PracticeA Second-Order Cybernetics/Postmodernist Consideration of Quantitative and Qualitative ResearchSystemic ConsistencyThe New PhysicsImplications for the Social SciencesImplications of a Cybernetic PerspectivePractice TestMySearchLab ConnectionsChapter 18: Epistemological Challenges: Thinking About Our Thinking Mind and Nature/StoriesConceptual PathologiesProblems Exist “Out There”The Map Is the TerritoryDefining Differences in IsolationIndependence/Autonomy and Unilateral ControlYou Can Do Just One ThingControl Is PossibleWe Can Just ObserveThe Paradox of Being a Systemic TherapistContinuing ChallengesMore on Teaching and Learning the Cybernetic PerspectiveIn ConclusionPractice TestReferences Name Index Subject Index