In the past decade, family therapy has evolved from a loosely defined aggregate of approaches to a mature field with codified schools of theoretical systems and concepts. Textbook of Family and Couples Therapy: Clinical Applications is the first book to draw together theories and techniques from these various schools and combine them with specific clinical approaches in a single comprehensive resource. Under the editorial direction of acclaimed expert G. Pirooz Sholevar, Textbook of Family and Couples Therapy presents the current body of theoretical knowledge in the field along with the latest practical applications for working with couples and families. The book is divided into seven major sections: Family Therapy: Theory and Techniques; Family Assessment; Family Therapy With Children and Adolescents; Marital Therapy; Family Therapy With Different Disorders; and Research in Family and Marital Therapy. Most sections begin with overview chapters to lay the groundwork for clinical applications. With contributions from today’s leading practitioners, Textbook of Family and Couples Therapy includes unique features such as: Family therapy approaches to specific mental disorders, including depression, psychiatric hospitalization, alcohol and substance abuse, incest, and personality disorders Specific guidance for working with couples, with detailed approaches to problems such as sexual dysfunction, divorce, remarriage, and stepfamilies—invaluable for practicing in today’s society The unique considerations of treating children in a family therapy context with practical applications such as whole-family intervention and a method for parent management training An overview of the evolution and theoretical underpinnings of family therapy which helps readers develop a solid foundation of understanding to support their clinical knowledge The latest information on issues related to gender, culture, and ethnicity and how they affect family therapy…important for enhancing awareness and understanding The state of family therapy research today and future research directions with perspectives from leading academics to point the way Blending theoretical training and up-to-date clinical strategies, Textbook of Family and Couples Therapy is a landmark event in the field. It is a must for clinicians who are currently treating couples and families—and a major resource for training future clinicians in these highly effective therapeutic techniques. --- from the publisher Reviews: "The book's 35 authors make up a highly eminent and distinguished group of clinician-scholars who have provided us with a well-written, well-edited collection of 38 chapters, covering every conceivable aspect of family and couples therapy. . . . This comprehensive, current, and thoroughly up-to-date tome fills a vital need. It provides a comprehensive picture of what is seminal and traditional in family psychology as well as what is innovative and on the cutting edge. It is one of the most important books on family therapy that I have reviewed in the past several years, and it deserves a place on the bookshelf of every health care professional. It should be definitive for years to come."—William Vogel, Ph.D., Psychiatric Services, January 2004 Contents: Part I: Introduction. Family theory and therapy: an overview. Part II: Family Therapy: Theory and Techniques. Introduction to family theories. Structural family therapy. Constructing therapy: from strategic, to systemic, to narrative models. Psychodynamic family therapy. Multigenerational family systems theory of Bowen and its application. Contextual therapy. Behavioral family therapy. Psychoeducational family intervention. Social network intervention. Gender-sensitive family therapy. Techniques of family therapy. Family theories: conclusion. Part III: Family Assessment. Initial and diagnostic family interviews. Family assessment. The family life cycle: a framework for understanding family development. Functional and dysfunctional families. Diagnosis of family relational disorders. Part IV: Family Therapy With Children and Adolescents. Family therapy with children and adolescents: an overview. Family therapy with children: a model for engaging the whole family. Parent management training. Part V: Marital Therapy. Marital therapy: an overview. Psychodynamic couples therapy. Behavioral couples therapy. The divorcing family: characteristics and interventions. The remarried family: characteristics and interventions. Marital enrichment in clinical practice. Sex therapy at the turn of the century: new awareness and response. Part VI: Family Therapy With Different Disorders. Family variables and interventions in schizophrenia. Depression and the family: interpersonal context and family. Family intervention and psychiatric hospitalization. National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and family psychiatry: working toward a collaborative model. Alcoholic and substance-abusing families. Family intervention with incest. Family therapy with personality disorders. The impact of culture and ethnicity on family. Medical family therapy. Part VII: Research in Family and Marital Therapy. The state of family therapy research: a positive prognosis. Couples therapy research: status and directions. Conclusion and future directions. References. Index. About the Editors: G. Pirooz Sholevar, M.D., is clinical professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Piscataway, New Jersey. He is president of NUEVA VIDA Multicultural/Multilingual Behavioral Care in Philadelphia and South Jersey. Dr. Sholevar is a child/adolescent and general psychiatrist, a family and marital therapist, and a psychoanalyst for children and adults. His 11 published books include The Handbook of Marriage and Marital Therapy and Transmission of Depression in Families and Children. Linda D. Schwoeri, Ph.D., is on the faculty of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Osteopathic School of Medicine in Stratford, New Jersey. She is co-editor of the book Transmission of Depression in Families and Children. |