Focused Issues in Family Therapy – serie

This landmark text describes research-informed practices and applications of Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) across a range of care environments and clinical populations (e.g., family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, alcohol and drug treatment, community health centers, and military and veteran health systems). It is a timely release for a rapidly growing field.It includes the work of some of MedFT’s most innovative leaders, who expertly: illustrate MedFT in action across primary, secondary, tertiary, and other unique health contextsdescribe the make-up of healthcare teams tailored to each chapter’s distinct environment(s)highlight fundamental knowledge and critical skillsets across diverse healthcare contextsdetail research-informed practices for MedFTs who treat patients, couples, families, and communities ClinicalMethods in Medical Family Therapy is a comprehensive source for any behavioral health student, trainee, or professional looking to understand the necessary skills for MedFTs entering the healthcare workforce. It is also an essential read for trainers and instructors who are covering the fundamental MedFT knowledge and skills across diverse healthcare contexts. This text was written to be applicable for a wide variety of healthcare disciplines, including family therapy, counseling nursing, medicine, psychology and social work.

This progressive volume takes a nuanced approach to understanding systemic therapies with diverse client populations, leading to culturally responsive therapy. Synthesizing diverse streams of psychology, philosophy, and social theory, chapters focus on cutting-edge issues in couple and family therapy including social justice, power, and privilege in therapy, the role of evidence-based practices, and integrative approaches to couple and family therapy. Each contributor is either a recent immigrant to the U.S. or a person of color, bringing unique personal lenses and experiences to the exploration of the topics. And coverage also makes clear what white therapists need to learn—and unlearn—before they can work responsively with clients of color.  This practice-building reference: Combines research with applied knowledge in its treatment of topics.Adapts systemic therapy practice into today’s culturally diverse contexts.Explores themes of power, privilege, and social justice in each chapter.Presents multiculturalism in terms of therapeutic responsiveness.Critiques approaches to systemic therapy with immigrant clients and clients of color.Challenges readers to access deeper concepts and realities of self, other, and trust.Updating familiar takes on cultural competence with both local and global implications, Cross-Cultural Responsiveness and Systemic Therapy describes numerous opportunities for and challenges to couple and family therapy, as well as cross-disciplinary opportunities for incorporating social justice and cultural responsiveness in training and supervision of couple and family therapists.

This book examines the implications of exploring spirituality through the lens of human relationships. It addresses systemic supervision and training and explores a systemic approach to the development of the self. The book provides an educational methodology that lays a foundation in describing an operational model of spirituality that is applicable for both theistic and nontheistic perspectives. In addition, it details how spirituality is itself a diversity as well as explores spirituality through a lens of diversity. In addition, a pilot research project on spirituality set in a MFT Live Supervision Group illustrates how to apply a systemic approach to spirituality. Finally, the book offers examples of practice using spirituality in various training settings.Key areas of coverage include:· How a systemic approach to spirituality enables the lens of relationship and diversity to enrich supervising and teaching family therapy emerging from the self of therapist concerns.· Theoretical perspectives that connect systemic practice with spirituality in an approach for family therapy.· How a systemic spiritual approach can be used in training marriage and family therapists.· Interventions that focus on how a relational systemic approach views transcendence and immanence from both clinical and spiritual perspectives.· Concepts that inform supervision and training with the goals of educating students to be spiritually literate and spiritually sensitive.· Barriers to implementing this approach with examples of how to address such obstacles.Spirituality in Systemic Family Therapy Supervision and Training is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, graduate students as well as clinicians, supervisors, and professionals in clinical psychology, family studies / family therapy, and public health as well as all interrelated disciplines.

This book examines the implications of exploring spirituality through the lens of human relationships. It addresses systemic supervision and training and explores a systemic approach to the development of the self. The book provides an educational methodology that lays a foundation in describing an operational model of spirituality that is applicable for both theistic and nontheistic perspectives. In addition, it details how spirituality is itself a diversity as well as explores spirituality through a lens of diversity. In addition, a pilot research project on spirituality set in a MFT Live Supervision Group illustrates how to apply a systemic approach to spirituality. Finally, the book offers examples of practice using spirituality in various training settings.Key areas of coverage include:· How a systemic approach to spirituality enables the lens of relationship and diversity to enrich supervising and teaching family therapy emerging from the self of therapist concerns.· Theoretical perspectives that connect systemic practice with spirituality in an approach for family therapy.· How a systemic spiritual approach can be used in training marriage and family therapists.· Interventions that focus on how a relational systemic approach views transcendence and immanence from both clinical and spiritual perspectives.· Concepts that inform supervision and training with the goals of educating students to be spiritually literate and spiritually sensitive.· Barriers to implementing this approach with examples of how to address such obstacles.Spirituality in Systemic Family Therapy Supervision and Training is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, graduate students as well as clinicians, supervisors, and professionals in clinical psychology, family studies / family therapy, and public health as well as all interrelated disciplines.

This highly practical resource integrates the powerful dynamics of family into residential treatment and outdoors-based therapy for young people. Recognizing both the family as the systemic base for promoting change in adolescents and the therapeutic potential of the residential/wilderness setting, experts show how aligning the two can enhance the healing value of the program while promoting higher standards for care. Chapters describe innovative, science-based interventions and techniques for treating common behavioral and emotional problems along a continuum of family involvement and separation, to address issues affecting the family as well as the identified patient. With its accessible ideas and compelling case studies, the book ably demonstrates the critical role of family in adolescent patients’ successful transition to post-treatment life. Among the topics covered:• A parallel process: home therapy while the adolescent or young adult is in residential care.• Intentional separation of families: increasing differentiation through wilderness therapy.• Emerging family therapy models utilized in residential settings.• Engaging families in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare.• Research on coping skills used by youth with emotional and behavioral disorders.• Expanding our understanding of the place of family therapy in residential treatment.Family Therapy with Adolescents in Residential Treatment offers novel, exciting, and effective strategies and techniques for practitioners and mental health professionals particularly interested in family therapy with adolescents, and in related interventions and research.

This practical text offers professional guidance on stopping domestic violence in couples and families and promoting healing and safety in its aftermath. Rich in theoretical diversity (attachment, trauma, feminist, narrative) and inclusive of family structures and forms of violence, the coverage takes an approach to understanding both complex circumstances and intervening with families. The tasks of healing, from reestablishing trust to fostering positive coping, are clearly linked to effects of abuse such as unresolved loss, blunted trauma responses, poor emotion regulation, and damaged relational esteem. And because sustained safety is crucial to well-being, the authors extend their concepts of safety to include professionals’ own experience, security, and self-care.Among the topics covered:· Living with violence in the family: retrospective recall of women’s childhood experiences.· How to help stop the violence: using a safety methodology across the lifespan.·  Helping couples separate safely: working towards safe separations.·  Healing and repair in relationships: working therapeutically with couples.·  Working systemically with parents, children, and adult survivors when the abuse stops.·  Supervision and consultation with practitioners who intervene with families and trauma.Intervening After Violence: Therapy for Couples and Families is an essential resource for social workers and mental health professionals engaged in clinical practice seeking strategies for working therapeutically and systematically with couples and families coping with physical and emotional violence.

This practical breakthrough introduces a robust framework for family and couples therapy specifically designed for working with difficult, entrenched, and court-mandated situations. Using an original model (the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances, or SOFTA) suitable to therapists across theoretical lines, the authors detail special challenges, empirically-supported strategies, and alliance-building interventions organized around common types of ongoing couple and family conflicts. Copious case examples illustrate how therapists can empower family members to discover their agency, find resources to address tough challenges, and especially repair their damaged relationships. These guidelines also show how to work effectively within multiple relationships in a family without compromising therapist focus, client individuality, or client safety.Included in the coverage:Using the therapeutic alliance to empower couples and familiesCouples’ cross-complaintsEngaging reluctant adolescents…and their parentsParenting in isolation, with or without a partnerChild maltreatment: creating therapeutic alliances with survivors of relational traumaDisadvantaged, multi-stressed families: adrift in a sea of professional helpersEmpowering through the alliance: a practical formulationTherapeutic Alliances with Families offers powerful new tools for social workers, mental health professionals, and practitioners working in couple and family therapy cases with reluctant clients and seeking specific, practical case examples and resources for alliance-related interventions.

This much-needed volume examines the process and practice of supervision in family therapy, with special emphasis on systemic practice. Expert trainers and supervisors from diverse disciplines take a systemic tour of the relationships between supervisor, therapist, and client, analyzing the core skills of effective, meaningful supervision—including questioning, listening, and reflecting—and their impact on therapy. These skills and others are applied to supervising therapy with individuals, couples, and families in areas including substance abuse, domestic violence, and research settings. Throughout the book, contributors share self-care strategies, so supervisors can stay engaged and creative, meet the many challenges entailed in their work, and avoid burnout.Among the topics covered:The resonance from personal life in family therapy supervision.Creating a dialogical culture for supervision.The supervisor’s power and moments of learning.Supervision and domestic violence: therapy with individuals, couples, and families.Systemic supervision with groups in child protection contexts.When the supervision process falters and breaks down: pathways to repair. The highly practical information in Supervision of Family Therapy and Systemic Practice is adaptable by readers to their particular supervisory or training needs. Novice and veteran mental health, social care, and social work practitioners and psychotherapists, will find it a substantial resource.

This landmark text describes research-informed practices and applications of Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) across a range of care environments and clinical populations (e.g., family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, alcohol and drug treatment, community health centers, and military and veteran health systems). It is a timely release for a rapidly growing field.It includes the work of some of MedFT’s most innovative leaders, who expertly: illustrate MedFT in action across primary, secondary, tertiary, and other unique health contextsdescribe the make-up of healthcare teams tailored to each chapter’s distinct environment(s)highlight fundamental knowledge and critical skillsets across diverse healthcare contextsdetail research-informed practices for MedFTs who treat patients, couples, families, and communities ClinicalMethods in Medical Family Therapy is a comprehensive source for any behavioral health student, trainee, or professional looking to understand the necessary skills for MedFTs entering the healthcare workforce. It is also an essential read for trainers and instructors who are covering the fundamental MedFT knowledge and skills across diverse healthcare contexts. This text was written to be applicable for a wide variety of healthcare disciplines, including family therapy, counseling nursing, medicine, psychology and social work.

This progressive volume takes a nuanced approach to understanding systemic therapies with diverse client populations, leading to culturally responsive therapy. Synthesizing diverse streams of psychology, philosophy, and social theory, chapters focus on cutting-edge issues in couple and family therapy including social justice, power, and privilege in therapy, the role of evidence-based practices, and integrative approaches to couple and family therapy. Each contributor is either a recent immigrant to the U.S. or a person of color, bringing unique personal lenses and experiences to the exploration of the topics. And coverage also makes clear what white therapists need to learn—and unlearn—before they can work responsively with clients of color.  This practice-building reference: Combines research with applied knowledge in its treatment of topics.Adapts systemic therapy practice into today’s culturally diverse contexts.Explores themes of power, privilege, and social justice in each chapter.Presents multiculturalism in terms of therapeutic responsiveness.Critiques approaches to systemic therapy with immigrant clients and clients of color.Challenges readers to access deeper concepts and realities of self, other, and trust.Updating familiar takes on cultural competence with both local and global implications, Cross-Cultural Responsiveness and Systemic Therapy describes numerous opportunities for and challenges to couple and family therapy, as well as cross-disciplinary opportunities for incorporating social justice and cultural responsiveness in training and supervision of couple and family therapists.

This highly practical resource integrates the powerful dynamics of family into residential treatment and outdoors-based therapy for young people. Recognizing both the family as the systemic base for promoting change in adolescents and the therapeutic potential of the residential/wilderness setting, experts show how aligning the two can enhance the healing value of the program while promoting higher standards for care. Chapters describe innovative, science-based interventions and techniques for treating common behavioral and emotional problems along a continuum of family involvement and separation, to address issues affecting the family as well as the identified patient. With its accessible ideas and compelling case studies, the book ably demonstrates the critical role of family in adolescent patients’ successful transition to post-treatment life. Among the topics covered:• A parallel process: home therapy while the adolescent or young adult is in residential care.• Intentional separation of families: increasing differentiation through wilderness therapy.• Emerging family therapy models utilized in residential settings.• Engaging families in Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare.• Research on coping skills used by youth with emotional and behavioral disorders.• Expanding our understanding of the place of family therapy in residential treatment.Family Therapy with Adolescents in Residential Treatment offers novel, exciting, and effective strategies and techniques for practitioners and mental health professionals particularly interested in family therapy with adolescents, and in related interventions and research.

This practical text offers professional guidance on stopping domestic violence in couples and families and promoting healing and safety in its aftermath. Rich in theoretical diversity (attachment, trauma, feminist, narrative) and inclusive of family structures and forms of violence, the coverage takes an approach to understanding both complex circumstances and intervening with families. The tasks of healing, from reestablishing trust to fostering positive coping, are clearly linked to effects of abuse such as unresolved loss, blunted trauma responses, poor emotion regulation, and damaged relational esteem. And because sustained safety is crucial to well-being, the authors extend their concepts of safety to include professionals’ own experience, security, and self-care.Among the topics covered:· Living with violence in the family: retrospective recall of women’s childhood experiences.· How to help stop the violence: using a safety methodology across the lifespan.·  Helping couples separate safely: working towards safe separations.·  Healing and repair in relationships: working therapeutically with couples.·  Working systemically with parents, children, and adult survivors when the abuse stops.·  Supervision and consultation with practitioners who intervene with families and trauma.Intervening After Violence: Therapy for Couples and Families is an essential resource for social workers and mental health professionals engaged in clinical practice seeking strategies for working therapeutically and systematically with couples and families coping with physical and emotional violence.

This practical breakthrough introduces a robust framework for family and couples therapy specifically designed for working with difficult, entrenched, and court-mandated situations. Using an original model (the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances, or SOFTA) suitable to therapists across theoretical lines, the authors detail special challenges, empirically-supported strategies, and alliance-building interventions organized around common types of ongoing couple and family conflicts. Copious case examples illustrate how therapists can empower family members to discover their agency, find resources to address tough challenges, and especially repair their damaged relationships. These guidelines also show how to work effectively within multiple relationships in a family without compromising therapist focus, client individuality, or client safety.Included in the coverage:Using the therapeutic alliance to empower couples and familiesCouples’ cross-complaintsEngaging reluctant adolescents…and their parentsParenting in isolation, with or without a partnerChild maltreatment: creating therapeutic alliances with survivors of relational traumaDisadvantaged, multi-stressed families: adrift in a sea of professional helpersEmpowering through the alliance: a practical formulationTherapeutic Alliances with Families offers powerful new tools for social workers, mental health professionals, and practitioners working in couple and family therapy cases with reluctant clients and seeking specific, practical case examples and resources for alliance-related interventions.