Routledge Series on Family Therapy and Counseling – serie

Relational-Cultural Therapy (RCT) is developed to accurately address the relational experiences of persons in de-valued cultural groups. As a model, it is ideal for work with couples: it encourages active participation in relationships, fosters the well-being of everyone involved, and acknowledges that we grow through and toward relationships throughout the lifespan. Part and parcel with relationships is the knowledge that, whether intentionally or not, we fail each other, misunderstand each other, and hurt each other, causing an oftentimes enduring disconnect.This book helps readers understand the pain of disconnect and to use RCT to heal relationships in a variety of settings, including with heterosexual couples, lesbian and gay couples, and mixed race couples. Readers will note a blending of approaches (person-centered, narrative, systems, and feminist theory), all used to change the cultural conditions that can contribute to problems: unequal, sometimes abusive power arrangements, marginalization of groups, and rigid gender, race, and sexuality expectations. Readers will learn to help minimize economic and power disparities and encourage the growth of mutual empathy while looking at a variety of relational challenges, such as parenting, stepfamilies, sexuality, and illness. Polarities of “you vs. me” will be replaced with the healing concept of “us.”

In this age of accountability, and irrespective of whether they work in health-care settings or conventional mental health settings, all therapists will be increasingly expected to provide effective psychosocial treatment to individuals and families who face co-morbid medical conditions. Statistics these conditions are daunting: 75 percent of adults over age 65 and 50 percent of Americans constantly experience chronic medical symptoms, and prevalence rates of chronic medical conditions that are more than three times higher than mental illness. While it can be helpful to conceptualize treatment in terms of individual dynamics and utilize cognitive behavioral strategies, it can be much more effective to conceptualize family as well as individual dynamics and to utilize systemic interventions when indicated. Effective Treatment of Individuals and Families Facing Medical Conditions addresses the need for these types of interventions. It provides background information on 12 common medical conditions, and includes discussions of family dynamics as well as medical and psychosocial treatments. While recognizing the role of personality, culture, and illness dynamics, it emphasizes the centrality of family dynamics in conceptualizing and implementing interventions.

In this age of accountability, and irrespective of whether they work in health-care settings or conventional mental health settings, all therapists will be increasingly expected to provide effective psychosocial treatment to individuals and families who face co-morbid medical conditions. Statistics these conditions are daunting: 75 percent of adults over age 65 and 50 percent of Americans constantly experience chronic medical symptoms, and prevalence rates of chronic medical conditions that are more than three times higher than mental illness. While it can be helpful to conceptualize treatment in terms of individual dynamics and utilize cognitive behavioral strategies, it can be much more effective to conceptualize family as well as individual dynamics and to utilize systemic interventions when indicated. Effective Treatment of Individuals and Families Facing Medical Conditions addresses the need for these types of interventions. It provides background information on 12 common medical conditions, and includes discussions of family dynamics as well as medical and psychosocial treatments. While recognizing the role of personality, culture, and illness dynamics, it emphasizes the centrality of family dynamics in conceptualizing and implementing interventions.

This exciting new text on counseling African American couples outlines critical components to providing culturally-sensitive treatment. Built around a framework that examines African American couples’ issues as well as the specific contextual factors that can negatively impact their relationships, it:• Addresses threats to love and intimacy for Black couples• Provides culturally relevant, strengths-based approaches and assessment practices• Includes interesting case studies at the conclusion of each chapter that illustrate important concepts.The chapters span the current state of couple relationships; readers will find information for working with lesbians and gays in relationships, pastoral counseling, and intercultural Black couples. There is also a chapter for non-Black therapists who work with Black clients. Dispersed throughout the book are interviews with prominent African American couples’ experts: Dr. Chalandra Bryant, relationship expert Audrey B. Chapman, Dr. Daryl Rowe and Dr. Sandra Lyons-Rowe, and Dr. Thomas Parham. They provide personal insight on issues such as the strengths African Americans bring to relationships, their skills and struggles, and gender and class considerations. This must-read book will significantly help you and your clients.

In this book we present a comprehensive view of a systemic approach to working with families, initiated by Karl Tomm more than two decades ago at the Calgary Family Therapy Centre in Canada. The contributors of this edited book articulate the IPscope framework as it was originally designed and its evolution over time. We invite you, experienced professionals and new family therapists, to join with us to explore some of the mysteries of human relationships. While the focus on our explorations revolves around clinical mental health problems and initiatives towards solutions, the concepts are applicable in many domains of daily life. They highlight the ways in which we, as persons, invite each other into recurrent patterns of interaction that generate and maintain some stability in our continuously changing relationships. The stabilities arise when our invitations become coupled and can be characterized as mutual; yet, they always remain transient. What is of major significance is that these transient relational stabilities can have major positive or negative effects in our lives. Consequently, we could all potentially benefit from greater awareness of the nature of these patterns, how particular patterns arise, and how we might be able to influence them.

In this book we present a comprehensive view of a systemic approach to working with families, initiated by Karl Tomm more than two decades ago at the Calgary Family Therapy Centre in Canada. The contributors of this edited book articulate the IPscope framework as it was originally designed and its evolution over time. We invite you, experienced professionals and new family therapists, to join with us to explore some of the mysteries of human relationships. While the focus on our explorations revolves around clinical mental health problems and initiatives towards solutions, the concepts are applicable in many domains of daily life. They highlight the ways in which we, as persons, invite each other into recurrent patterns of interaction that generate and maintain some stability in our continuously changing relationships. The stabilities arise when our invitations become coupled and can be characterized as mutual; yet, they always remain transient. What is of major significance is that these transient relational stabilities can have major positive or negative effects in our lives. Consequently, we could all potentially benefit from greater awareness of the nature of these patterns, how particular patterns arise, and how we might be able to influence them.

Written for researchers, practitioners, and students in advanced courses, this book furthers our understanding of the complexity of contemporary families. Seven types of families are the focus of this book, based on the research available and the challenges they present for mental health professionals. The family forms discussed are• Adoption• Foster care• Interracial families• Family members with special needs (with a focus on autism)• Families with LGBTQ members• Grandparent-headed Families• Family members with chronic medical conditionsThe volume establishes an innovative format that fits the new age of evidence-based practice. Each chapter is written by a collaborative team of authors consisting of researchers and practitioners. The former address the prevalence and characteristics of the family form and then present the research findings most relevant to clinical practice; the latter use this as the foundation for their portion of the chapter, in which they discuss strategies for good therapeutic intervention, representing a true integration of science and practice. Readers learn about relevant research findings regarding each family described, as well as gain explicit instruction and case material for which to augment therapeutic efforts with these populations.

Written for researchers, practitioners, and students in advanced courses, this book furthers our understanding of the complexity of contemporary families. Seven types of families are the focus of this book, based on the research available and the challenges they present for mental health professionals. The family forms discussed are• Adoption• Foster care• Interracial families• Family members with special needs (with a focus on autism)• Families with LGBTQ members• Grandparent-headed Families• Family members with chronic medical conditionsThe volume establishes an innovative format that fits the new age of evidence-based practice. Each chapter is written by a collaborative team of authors consisting of researchers and practitioners. The former address the prevalence and characteristics of the family form and then present the research findings most relevant to clinical practice; the latter use this as the foundation for their portion of the chapter, in which they discuss strategies for good therapeutic intervention, representing a true integration of science and practice. Readers learn about relevant research findings regarding each family described, as well as gain explicit instruction and case material for which to augment therapeutic efforts with these populations.

This book aims to create a foundation that respects theory, culture, and the mental health professions and to initiate the practical and needed discussions about how to work with immigrant families.

When a couple enters therapy, both partners have either explicit or implicit understandings of what can—and, more importantly, cannot—be discussed in therapy. Even when empirically tested assessments are used to help pinpoint areas of concern and conflict, couples may choose to identify only those areas that are relatively safe and do not seriously threaten each partner’s sense of integrity and vulnerability. How is a therapist supposed to proceed when a couple comes in for a tune-up, not realizing that their entire transmission needs to be serviced? Therapists know that some relationships, like some transmissions, can continue to function on some level even without proper care—sometimes even for years—before the couple seeks therapy. If, when they come in, the therapist can help the couples to repair and regain their lost equilibrium, they’ll be more likely to seek help when the transmission next begins to slip. In its clear, precise prose, insightful case studies, and thought-provoking discussion questions, Couples in Collusion lays out guidelines for identifying, understanding, and, dealing with the unspoken agreements and collusive systems that couples build up over time. Clinicians will find each chapter replete with concrete strategies they can use in practice as well as thorough explanations of the assessment tools, suggestions on how to use them, and even advice on how to build the tools’ costs into clinicians’ limited budgets.

When a couple enters therapy, both partners have either explicit or implicit understandings of what can—and, more importantly, cannot—be discussed in therapy. Even when empirically tested assessments are used to help pinpoint areas of concern and conflict, couples may choose to identify only those areas that are relatively safe and do not seriously threaten each partner’s sense of integrity and vulnerability. How is a therapist supposed to proceed when a couple comes in for a tune-up, not realizing that their entire transmission needs to be serviced? Therapists know that some relationships, like some transmissions, can continue to function on some level even without proper care—sometimes even for years—before the couple seeks therapy. If, when they come in, the therapist can help the couples to repair and regain their lost equilibrium, they’ll be more likely to seek help when the transmission next begins to slip. In its clear, precise prose, insightful case studies, and thought-provoking discussion questions, Couples in Collusion lays out guidelines for identifying, understanding, and, dealing with the unspoken agreements and collusive systems that couples build up over time. Clinicians will find each chapter replete with concrete strategies they can use in practice as well as thorough explanations of the assessment tools, suggestions on how to use them, and even advice on how to build the tools’ costs into clinicians’ limited budgets.

Relational-Cultural Therapy (RCT) is developed to accurately address the relational experiences of persons in de-valued cultural groups. As a model, it is ideal for work with couples: it encourages active participation in relationships, fosters the well-being of everyone involved, and acknowledges that we grow through and toward relationships throughout the lifespan. Part and parcel with relationships is the knowledge that, whether intentionally or not, we fail each other, misunderstand each other, and hurt each other, causing an oftentimes enduring disconnect.This book helps readers understand the pain of disconnect and to use RCT to heal relationships in a variety of settings, including with heterosexual couples, lesbian and gay couples, and mixed race couples. Readers will note a blending of approaches (person-centered, narrative, systems, and feminist theory), all used to change the cultural conditions that can contribute to problems: unequal, sometimes abusive power arrangements, marginalization of groups, and rigid gender, race, and sexuality expectations. Readers will learn to help minimize economic and power disparities and encourage the growth of mutual empathy while looking at a variety of relational challenges, such as parenting, stepfamilies, sexuality, and illness. Polarities of “you vs. me” will be replaced with the healing concept of “us.”

How does the family art therapist understand the complexities of another’s cultural diversity? What are international family therapist’s perspectives on treatment? These questions and more are explored in Multicultural Family Art Therapy, a text that demonstrates how to practice psychotherapy within an ethnocultural and empathetic context. Each international author presents their clinical perspective and cultural family therapy narrative, thereby giving readers the structural framework they need to work successfully with clients with diverse ethnic backgrounds different from their own. A wide range of international contributors provide their perspectives on visual symbols and content from America, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Israel, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Trinidad, Central America, and Brazil. They also address a diversity of theoretical orientations, including attachment, solution-focused, narrative, parent-child, and brief art therapy, and write about issues such as indigenous populations, immigration, acculturation, identity formation, and cultural isolation. At the core of this new text is the realization that family art therapy should address not only the diversity of theory, but also the diversity of international practice.

How does the family art therapist understand the complexities of another’s cultural diversity? What are international family therapist’s perspectives on treatment? These questions and more are explored in Multicultural Family Art Therapy, a text that demonstrates how to practice psychotherapy within an ethnocultural and empathetic context. Each international author presents their clinical perspective and cultural family therapy narrative, thereby giving readers the structural framework they need to work successfully with clients with diverse ethnic backgrounds different from their own. A wide range of international contributors provide their perspectives on visual symbols and content from America, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Israel, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Trinidad, Central America, and Brazil. They also address a diversity of theoretical orientations, including attachment, solution-focused, narrative, parent-child, and brief art therapy, and write about issues such as indigenous populations, immigration, acculturation, identity formation, and cultural isolation. At the core of this new text is the realization that family art therapy should address not only the diversity of theory, but also the diversity of international practice.

As the baby boomers move into retirement and later stages of life, gerontology and geriatrics have begun to receive much more attention. Changing Aging, Changing Family Therapy explores the ways in which family therapists’ expertise in systems theory makes them uniquely qualified to take a leading role in helping families and individuals cope with the challenges and changed circumstances that aging brings. Clinicians will find detailed coverage and practical guidelines on a wealth of vital topics, including coping with the illness of a parent or partner, working past retirement age, outliving one’s savings, preserving physical and mental well-being over time, and more.

How does the toxicity associated with particular parenting styles affect attachment? How do the contaminated views of themselves that children of poisonous parents have affect their relationships into adulthood? Like physicians, clinicians do not want to amputate, but they sometimes find it necessary in order to preserve the health of the larger system. Poisonous Parenting shows clinicians how to recognize the effects of poisonous parenting in adult children and how to heal the scars created by parents' toxic attitudes and behaviors. Readers will come away from the book understanding ways to counteract the effects of poisonous parenting so that clients can recover and lead a healthy life. They'll also learn techniques for determining when a relationship can be salvaged, when to proceed with caution, and when to disconnect in order to keep the poison from spreading.

This up-to-date, highly readable, theory-based, and application-oriented book fills a crucial void in literature on couple therapy. Few books in the couple therapy market bridge the gap between theory and practice; texts tend to lean in one direction or the other, either emphasizing theory and research with little practical application, or taking a cookbook approach that describes specific techniques and interventions that are divorced from any conceptual or theoretical base. However, couples therapy requires a high degree of abstract/conceptual thinking, as well as ingenuity, inventiveness and skill on the part of the therapist. Case Studies in Couples Therapy blends the best of all worlds: clinical applications with challenging and diverse couples that have been derived from the most influential theories and models in couples and family therapy, all written by highly experienced and respected voices in the field. In Case Studies in Couples Therapy, readers will grasp the essentials of major theories and approaches in a few pages and then see how concepts and principles are applied in the work of well-known clinicians. The case studies incorporate a wide variety of couples from diverse backgrounds in a number of different life situations. It is simultaneously narrow (including specific processes and interventions applied with real clients) and broad (clearly outlining a broad array of theories and concepts) in scope, and the interventions in it are directly linked to theoretical perspectives in a clear and systematic way. Students and clinicians alike will find the theoretical overview sections of each chapter clear and easy to follow, and each chapter’s thorough descriptions of effective, practical interventions will give readers a strong sense of the connections between theory and practice.

This up-to-date, highly readable, theory-based, and application-oriented book fills a crucial void in literature on couple therapy. Few books in the couple therapy market bridge the gap between theory and practice; texts tend to lean in one direction or the other, either emphasizing theory and research with little practical application, or taking a cookbook approach that describes specific techniques and interventions that are divorced from any conceptual or theoretical base. However, couples therapy requires a high degree of abstract/conceptual thinking, as well as ingenuity, inventiveness and skill on the part of the therapist. Case Studies in Couples Therapy blends the best of all worlds: clinical applications with challenging and diverse couples that have been derived from the most influential theories and models in couples and family therapy, all written by highly experienced and respected voices in the field. In Case Studies in Couples Therapy, readers will grasp the essentials of major theories and approaches in a few pages and then see how concepts and principles are applied in the work of well-known clinicians. The case studies incorporate a wide variety of couples from diverse backgrounds in a number of different life situations. It is simultaneously narrow (including specific processes and interventions applied with real clients) and broad (clearly outlining a broad array of theories and concepts) in scope, and the interventions in it are directly linked to theoretical perspectives in a clear and systematic way. Students and clinicians alike will find the theoretical overview sections of each chapter clear and easy to follow, and each chapter’s thorough descriptions of effective, practical interventions will give readers a strong sense of the connections between theory and practice.

The military imposes unique and often severe challenges to couples, which clinicians – particularly the growing numbers of civilian clinicians who see military couples – often struggle to address. These problems are only compounded by misunderstandings and misconceptions about what it means to be part of a specific branch of the military and part of the military as a whole. Handbook of Counseling Military Couples includes a clear, thorough introduction to military culture and to couple relationships in the military. But more than that, it provides readers with expert analyses of the special types of issues that come up for military couples and shows clinicians how to address them productively. In the chapters, readers will find the answers to questions such as how are military couples’ rights different from those of civilians? What attitudes and beliefs about relationships might military members bring to a session, and how are those different from those of civilians? What is the state of marriage and divorce in each of the branches and within the military in general? For a particular treatment modality, how does research in with military members compare to that of civilians? When should particular treatment strategies be used, and why – and how?

Contemporary Issues in Couples Counseling explores the most difficult issues that people in the helping professions face when treating couples and provides concrete solutions for addressing them effectively. Using the revolutionary choice theory and reality therapy approaches to couples counseling, the book shows clinicians how to combine a relationship-based approach with the pragmatism of cognitive-behavior therapies. Both experienced and beginning clinicians will find Contemporary Issues in Couples Counseling ideal for helping clients focus on the here and now, not the past, and for creating treatment plans that meet clients' individual needs while also addressing the needs of their partners.

This exciting new text on counseling African American couples outlines critical components to providing culturally-sensitive treatment. Built around a framework that examines African American couples’ issues as well as the specific contextual factors that can negatively impact their relationships, it:• Addresses threats to love and intimacy for Black couples• Provides culturally relevant, strengths-based approaches and assessment practices• Includes interesting case studies at the conclusion of each chapter that illustrate important concepts.The chapters span the current state of couple relationships; readers will find information for working with lesbians and gays in relationships, pastoral counseling, and intercultural Black couples. There is also a chapter for non-Black therapists who work with Black clients. Dispersed throughout the book are interviews with prominent African American couples’ experts: Dr. Chalandra Bryant, relationship expert Audrey B. Chapman, Dr. Daryl Rowe and Dr. Sandra Lyons-Rowe, and Dr. Thomas Parham. They provide personal insight on issues such as the strengths African Americans bring to relationships, their skills and struggles, and gender and class considerations. This must-read book will significantly help you and your clients.

Written by a psychologist who has worked with families and foster children for 11 years, Treating Families andChildren in the Child Protective System is designed for therapists, social workers, family preservationists, court officers, attorneys, judges, and others caught up in the interplay of child protection. Using theory and compelling case studies, the author posits child abuse as an ultimate form of family injustice, requiring intervention at every level of the system. The author proposes a critically optimistic stance, approaching each case as a family-friend with practical and powerful tools to direct the overwhelming power of the system into a force for the restoration of family justice.

A common question at the initial meeting of a family therapist and a new client(s) is often whether or not to include a child or children in the counseling sessions. The inclusion of a child in the family therapy process often changes the dynamic between client and therapist -- and between the clients themselves -- within the context of the counseling sessions. And yet, although this is such a common experience, many counselors and family therapists are not adequately equipped to advise parents on whether to include a child in therapy sessions. Once the child does make an appearance in the counseling session, the therapist is faced with the challenges inherent in caring for a child, in addition to many concerns due to the unique circumstance of the structured therapy. Counseling a child in the context of a family therapy session is a specific skill that has not received the attention that it deserves.This book is intended as a guide for both novice and experienced counselors and family therapists, covering a wide range of topics and offering a large body of information on how to effectively counsel children and their families. It includes recent research on a number of topics including working with children in a family context, the exclusion of children from counseling, and counselor training methods and approaches, the effectiveness of filial play therapy, the effects of divorce on children, and ADHD. Theoretical discussion is given to different family therapy approaches including family play therapy and filial play therapy. Central to the text are interviews with leaders in the field, including Salvador Minuchin, Eliana Gil, Rise VanFleet and Lee Shilts. A chapter devoted to ethical and legal issues in working with children in family counseling provides a much-needed overview of this often overlooked topic. Chapters include discussion of specific skills relevant to child counseling in the family context, case vignettes and examples, practical tips for the counselor, and handouts for parents.

For the Latino population, the family bond is powerful and enduring. Family serves as the primary source of support, care, guidance, and healing; all difficulties that arise for an individual are surmounted together. Therefore, a practitioner working with a Latino client must gain the trust and respect of the family in order to carry out treatment efficiently. He or she must essentially become a part of that family to encourage members to share their issues without the concern of breaching the confidence of the family. Counseling and Family Therapy with Latino Populations helps the therapist to join the Latino family in order to identify and explore the difficulties that threaten their welfare. With this fundamental principle as the basis, the book's editors and contributors write chapters that focus on work with children and adolescents, group counseling and substance abuse counseling. They incorporate specific case studies, methods, and strategies for intervention and provide insight into the cultural relevance behind each example. This book is a necessary resource for therapists working with Latino clients who wish to offer effective techniques while continuing to value the integrity of family tradition.

Family Art Therapy is designed to help the reader incorporate clinical art therapy intervention techniques into family therapy practice. Expressive modalities are often used in work with families, particularly visual art forms, and there is already considerable evidence and literature that point to a positive link between the two. This text is unique in that it draws together, for the first time in a single volume, an overview of the evolution of the theories and techniques from the major schools of classic family therapy, integrating them with practical clinical approaches from the field of art therapy.

Religion can play a vital role in the way people relate to each other, particularly with interpersonal dynamics within a family. The role of a couple or family’s religion(s) in the counseling room is no less important. This book provides practitioners with an overview of the principles of the major world religions, with specific focus on how each religion can influence family dynamics, and how best to incorporate this knowledge into effective practice with clients.

The topic of women divorced at midlife without children is one that has, to date, been absent from professional and academic literature, though these women make up a considerable and growing portion of our population. This book explores the experience, meaning, and impact of divorce at midlife for women without children, and provides insights into the unique stressors and issues confronting these individuals so that the practitioner can better anticipate and meet their needs. Clinical considerations and case examples will be presented via the narrative stories of women who have experienced this unusual role in a world that is still primarily centered on marriage and mothering. This book provides case examples, clinical themes, treatment recommendations, and suggests coping techniques and strategies. Castaldo draws heavily upon social constructionist, feminist, and narrative perspectives as theoretical frameworks for the book, as well as the results of her own qualitative research study. She suggests new concepts for women’s psychological development, including: an expanded family life cycle to include a normalized stage of mature single adulthood and a developmental process of autonomous competence for women. Other critical coping skills include meaning modification, role innovation, self-nurturing, expanded intimacy and attachment, and multi-diverse industriousness.

Attachment: Expanding the Cultural Connections is an exciting exploration of the latest trends in the theory and application of attachment within cross-cultural settings. The book's insightful analysis, remarkable case studies, and groundbreaking research make it essential reading for any clinician or scholar interested in perceptions of love and attachment.

The loss of intimacy is one of the most difficult—but also one of the most common—factors in the destruction of any relationship. Recovering Intimacy in Love Relationships lays out practical, evidence-based guidelines on which clinicians can depend as they wade through the intense emotions and fragile bonds of couples in crisis. With care and sensitivity, the book's authors analyze the increasingly complex context in which the cycle of intimacy develops, wanes, and recovers. The chapters delve into diverse populations' attitudes toward intimacy and provide an entire section on cultural, gender and religious issues. Clinicians looking for a research-based, practical take on the many facets of intimacy in the twenty-first century need look no further than this book.