Becoming an Effective Family Therapist

Peter Rober is a clinical psychologist and family therapist. He is professor at the Institute for Family and Sexuality Studies, Medical School (University of Leuven, Belgium). His research focus is on the psychotherapy process in family therapy, and on processes in families (trauma, grief, secrecy, etc.). He has numerous publications on these subjects in international peer-reviewed journals.

“What is this process of becoming a family therapist? How do we understand it? Peter Rober offers us a profound, thoughtful and compassionate exploration and description of how we become an effective family therapist for today’s families and communities. Drawing on the available research and many examples from his long years of practice experience, Peter’s wisdom and love of his work shines through every page of this practical textbook.”Arlene Vetere, VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway“In this superb book, Peter Rober helps the reader understand the essence of effective family therapy. Assiduously drawing from a variety of different traditions in family therapy, Rober immerses us in the experiential world of being and becoming a family therapist. The wisdom he transmits emphasizes learning specific methods and drawing from research, but also the accentuates development of the self of therapist to be able to be fully present in sessions. Filled with instructive and moving clinical vignettes, and with many easily applied methods, this is the best book I know for the today’s beginning family therapist and a must read for everyone else.”Jay L. Lebow, Ph.D., ABPP, Senior Scholar and Clinical Professor, Family Institute at Northwestern and Northwestern University“An efficient and passionate book, written from the front lines of psychotherapy. Necessary book for everyone who is learning to do family therapy; essential book for those who really want to BE a family therapist.” Valentín Escudero, Research Center for Systemic Interventions, University of A Coruña, Spain; director of the Family Therapy Program for Children and Adolescents at Risk

• Part I: What scientific research can teach us about being an effective therapistCh.1 The effective psychotherapistCh.2 The complex alliance in family therapyStairway to heaven – The story of Jason and his family (part 1)Part II: The family therapist in the sessionCh.3 The family therapist as a wounded healerCh.4 The family therapist in actionCh.5 The family therapist’s inner dialogueCh.6 Emotion regulation of the family therapistStairway to heaven – The story of Jason and his family (part 2)Part III: Becoming more effective as a family therapistCh.7 Feedback-orientation of the family therapistCh.8 The self-supervision questionnaireStairway to heaven – The Story of Jason and his family (part 3)Part IV: Being a family therapistCh.9 The story of the therapy with the De Smet family