William J. Doherty – författare

Origins We call this book on theoretical orientations and methodological strategies in family studies a sourcebook because it details the social and personal roots (i.e., sources) from which these orientations and strategies flow.

Origins We call this book on theoretical orientations and methodological strategies in family studies a sourcebook because it details the social and personal roots (i.e., sources) from which these orientations and strategies flow. Thus, an appropriate way to preface this book is to talk first of its roots, its beginnings. In the mid 1980s there emerged in some quarters the sense that it was time for family studies to take stock of itself. A goal was thus set to write a book that, like Janus, would face both backward and forward a book that would give readers both a perspec tive on the past and a map for the future. There were precedents for such a project: The Handbook of Marriage and the Family edited by Harold Christensen and published in 1964; the two Contemporary Theories about theFamily volumes edited by Wesley Burr, Reuben Hill, F. Ivan Nye, and Ira Reiss, published in 1979; and the Handbook of Marriage and the Family edited by Marvin Sussman and Suzanne Steinmetz, then in production.

In the narrative of every human life and family, illness is a prominent character. Even if we have avoided serious illness ourselves, we cannot escape its reach into our circle of family and friends. Illness brings us closer to one another through caregiving and separates us through disability and death, yet little attention has been paid to personal and family illness in psychotherapy. Rather, therapists tend to focus on the psychosocial realm, leaving the biological realm to other physicians and nurses. Susan H. McDaniel, Jeri Hepworth, and William J. Doherty invited therapists who work with individuals and families experiencing chronic illness and disability to describe clinical cases that illustrate their approach to medical family therapy. Contributors then were asked to share a personal story about their experiences with illness, and to explain how those experiences affect the way they work with their clients. Vivid case studies dealing with a range of illnesses, including cancer infertility, schizophrenia, AIDS, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and multiple sclerosis, show how the therapists' own experiences of illness are relevant to their care of others-and how these experiences can be used to form a healing bond in therapy. Poignant, honest, and illuminating, The Shared Experience of Illness allows us to understand more fully the relationship between the personal and the professional.

Does a healthy family environment reduce the risk of illness to family members? Is there a relationship between common family patterns related to health and interactions between families and the health care system? Organized around a unique Family, Health and Illness Cycle developed by the authors, this timely volume discusses such salient issues as family experiences with health promotion and risk reduction, vulnerability and illness onset, illness appraisal, acute response, and adaptation to illness. Separate chapters consider each of these areas in terms of exemplar issues of current interest and con -cern, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and bereavement. In addition, issues related to health care intervention and policy are addressed and important methodological issues in family and health are raised. Written in nontechnical language and including discussion questions and recommended readings, Families and Health is an ideal text for family studies and family psychology courses. "This book represents an important contribution to the task of disseminating the model. Addressed to a multidisciplinary audience of health providers, the text is an excellent introduction. It is also a well-referenced and interesting survey of applied clinical behavioral sciences." --The Literature of Medicine "This book, a gem in both value and clarity, makes an important contribution to relating health and illness to family structure and function. . . . An intensely referenced, authoritative basic science textbook that describes why caring for the family for the benefit of the patient is not only desirable but essential for excellent health care. . . . A well-written, readable, and authoritative approach to relationships between families, health, and illness." --The Journal of Family Practice "In 159 pages of easy-to-read and well-referenced text, the seven chapters cover the stages of the 'family health and illness cycle' initially developed by one of the author's, William J. Doherty. . . . This book is directed to undergraduate students as part of a 'series of textbooks designed to examine topics relevant to a broad view of family studies." --American Family Physician "This is a very useful text for acquainting newcomers to the health care field with the principles and complexities of that system and with the need for health care providers to attend to the transactional and reciprocal nature of their work with families. Incidentally, it would be informative as well to those already working in the field in multidisciplinary settings. The authors have done a remarkable job of placing the material in a historical context, tracing the evolution and influence of various theories on current modes of health care, summarizing the research literature and presenting it in a succinct manner, and elucidating the practical applications. The structure of the book is well organized and logical; the content is informative and highly relevant to the current health care scene." --Contemporary Psychology "Any teacher who is involved in the training of social workers, doctors, nurses, or any other professional involved in the delivery of health services will be pleased to discover this small book, which is a superb guide through the recent literature on the interface of family, health, and illness." --Family Systems Medicine "The excellent summary of family-oriented literature makes this book valuable to medical students and family practice residents. Experienced family physicians wishing to obtain a brief review of the current literature related to families and health may find this book useful as well." --Physician's Bookshelf "An excellent reference source for students and teachers. . . . The authors remain focused on their topic and illustrate the concept developed in each of the chapters." --Canadian Family Physician

Does a healthy family environment reduce the risk of illness to family members? Is there a relationship between common family patterns related to health and interactions between families and the health care system? Organized around a unique Family, Health and Illness Cycle developed by the authors, this timely volume discusses such salient issues as family experiences with health promotion and risk reduction, vulnerability and illness onset, illness appraisal, acute response, and adaptation to illness. Separate chapters consider each of these areas in terms of exemplar issues of current interest and con -cern, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and bereavement. In addition, issues related to health care intervention and policy are addressed and important methodological issues in family and health are raised. Written in nontechnical language and including discussion questions and recommended readings, Families and Health is an ideal text for family studies and family psychology courses. "This book represents an important contribution to the task of disseminating the model. Addressed to a multidisciplinary audience of health providers, the text is an excellent introduction. It is also a well-referenced and interesting survey of applied clinical behavioral sciences." --The Literature of Medicine "This book, a gem in both value and clarity, makes an important contribution to relating health and illness to family structure and function. . . . An intensely referenced, authoritative basic science textbook that describes why caring for the family for the benefit of the patient is not only desirable but essential for excellent health care. . . . A well-written, readable, and authoritative approach to relationships between families, health, and illness." --The Journal of Family Practice "In 159 pages of easy-to-read and well-referenced text, the seven chapters cover the stages of the 'family health and illness cycle' initially developed by one of the author's, William J. Doherty. . . . This book is directed to undergraduate students as part of a 'series of textbooks designed to examine topics relevant to a broad view of family studies." --American Family Physician "This is a very useful text for acquainting newcomers to the health care field with the principles and complexities of that system and with the need for health care providers to attend to the transactional and reciprocal nature of their work with families. Incidentally, it would be informative as well to those already working in the field in multidisciplinary settings. The authors have done a remarkable job of placing the material in a historical context, tracing the evolution and influence of various theories on current modes of health care, summarizing the research literature and presenting it in a succinct manner, and elucidating the practical applications. The structure of the book is well organized and logical; the content is informative and highly relevant to the current health care scene." --Contemporary Psychology "Any teacher who is involved in the training of social workers, doctors, nurses, or any other professional involved in the delivery of health services will be pleased to discover this small book, which is a superb guide through the recent literature on the interface of family, health, and illness." --Family Systems Medicine "The excellent summary of family-oriented literature makes this book valuable to medical students and family practice residents. Experienced family physicians wishing to obtain a brief review of the current literature related to families and health may find this book useful as well." --Physician's Bookshelf "An excellent reference source for students and teachers. . . . The authors remain focused on their topic and illustrate the concept developed in each of the chapters." --Canadian Family Physician

In Family Therapy, William J. Doherty and Susan H. McDaniel discuss the history, theory, and practice of this systems-oriented therapy. There are many different types of family therapy, but at the heart of each is systems theory, a model that arose from the fields of biology, physics, chemistry, and cybernetics. The main clinical precept of family systems theory is that individual problems must be understood within their larger family and environmental systems, which often provide the key to successful treatment. Family therapy provides a way of thinking in systemic, relational terms, and a set of strategies for intervening with individuals, couples, families, and other systems. Whether the client is a large family or a single person, family therapy focuses on changing relational interactions.In addition to this relationship focus, family therapy considers biological, environmental, and cultural influences on the client. Ultimately, this systemic way of thinking-essentially a model for understanding the complex relations that make up the world-can help therapists of all orientations in their practice.In this book, Dr. Doherty and Dr. McDaniel present and explore this approach, its theory, history, the therapy process, primary change mechanisms, empirical basis, and future developments. This essential primer to family therapy, amply illustrated with case examples, is perfect for graduate students studying theories of therapy and counselling as well as for seasoned practitioners interested in understanding this approach.

This book shows therapists how they can impact their communities by engaging their fellow citizens in addressing broad-based health and social problems.The greatest untapped resources for improving our health and social well-being are the knowledge, energy, and first-hand wisdom of the individuals, families, and communities who have dealt with challenges in their everyday lives. Mental health professionals can learn how to leverage these relationships to enact broader, community-wide change, using practices that fall outside of traditional methods of mental health service delivery.  This book presents insights from the authors' two decades of work in the citizen health care model, in which they have partnered with leaders from a wide range of communities on initiatives designed to improve health and remove social barriers. Readers will learn big-picture strategies for identifying and developing community-level initiatives, from disease prevention to broader cultural challenges, as well as common problems that arise when doing this work.  Includes in-depth discussions of successful, real-world programs co-created by therapists and community members, including: diabetes education anti-smoking campaigns political depolarization police interactions

New in paperback, this book presents a five-session protocol for distressed couples to learn about what has happened to their relationship and each person amp rsquo s contributions to the problems, with the goal of clarifying a direction for their marriage.Therapists and counselors can find themselves at an impasse when working with amp ldquo mixed-agenda amp rdquo couples-where one partner is considering divorce, while the other wants to preserve the marriage and start therapy. Such couples are a common and difficult challenge in clinical practice. To help confirm each partner amp rsquo s agenda before taking decisive steps toward either reconciliation or divorce, this book presents a richly-illustrated protocol called discernment counseling, for helping couples understand what has happened to their relationship and each person amp rsquo s contributions to the problems. The goal is to gain clarity and confidence about a direction for their marriage. Discernment counseling generally ends with a decision to divorce or a decision to engage in six months of couples therapy. Chapters cover special topics such as affairs and when one spouse has amp ldquo fallen out of love amp rdquo with the other.  Discernment counseling features individual conversations with the leaning-in and leaning-out spouse, along with carefully orchestrated times for each partner to share what they learned in the individual conversations. A special feature of the protocol is its short-term nature, with an initial commitment to just one session and a decision each time whether to do another session, up to five. This strategy invites both spouses to keep making choices to continue the work.

This second edition offers a session-by-session guide to discernment counseling, a specialized five-session intervention to help couples leaning different ways about divorce or separation find the best path forward for their troubled relationships. The authors have added new case examples that reflect different kinds of couples, as well as an additional chapter demonstrating the entire discernment counseling protocol in action. Updated scholarship and insights for learning to become a discernment counselor have also been included. Unlike traditional couples therapy, the goal of discernment counseling isn't to help the couple heal their relationship but rather to gain clarity and confidence about a direction for their relationship in terms of three potential paths: maintaining the status quo, getting divorced/separated, or entering couples therapy. Typically, one partner or spouse is invested in saving the relationship (leaning in) while the other is not (leaning out), so this book explores how to navigate these differing agendas and offers clinicians tools for interacting with both partners. It walks through the process of working with the couple together and with each partner individually, helping them to recognize their contributions to the relationship's problems and clarify what they would work on if they embark on couples therapy. Common challenges in discernment counseling are also explored, such as when neither partner is leaning in, when one partner is having an affair, and when there is lack of love or passion.

All couples walk to the altar dreaming of happily-ever-after, but many forces in our society work against healthy lifelong commitment. Renowned family therapist William J. Doherty reveals how cracks can develop in even a rock-solid marriage, and what steps you can take to keep your love strong. Learn ways to break free of common traps like confusing desires with needs, comparing your spouse to your fantasies of other relationships, or becoming overtime parents instead of full-time partners. You'll get suggestions for creating relationship rituals--from mundane to celebratory, sexy to silly--that build closeness and connection every day. The updated second edition incorporates Dr. Doherty's ongoing experience counseling couples, plus the latest information on marriage and health, how divorce affects kids, the impact of new technologies on family life, and more.Winner--Best Self-Help Book, ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards