Multigenerational Family Therapy is a book about honoring and helping families. Rich with personal reflections and anecdotes from the author’s many years as a family therapist, this volume’s major strength lies in its precise definition of the process and content of the therapy itself. As the family is the major resource system available to an individual, this important book provides therapists with the keys for helping family members help each other and provides a framework for understanding how the family, as a multigenerational system, moves through various stages of the therapeutic process. By emphasizing the importance of family members utilizing the past as a positive force for change and featuring complete transcripts of family therapy sessions, this sensitive book clearly illustrates how therapists can use the positive forces of family for dealing with today’s uncertainties and dilemmas. The step-by-step approach details how family therapists can work with families in a positive, healing manner. Several chapters illustrate the transition from the beginning to middle phases of family therapy to the terminating phase and provide a framework for how therapy evolves over time. Other chapters discuss the special skills required to work with various family constellations, such as couples, parents with children, siblings, adult children with aged parents, and individuals as well as extended family members. Helpful advice on how to deal with special issues and dilemmas of family therapy such as secret-keeping, affairs, co-therapy, crises and emergencies is also included in this comprehensive book. Beginning and advanced family therapy practitioners, students of family theory and therapy, faculty of social work practice, clinical psychology, nursing, family life education, and counseling psychology will find many positive ideas for working with families in this detailed book. Reviews: “Anyone who is interested in multigenerational family therapy will find this book indispensable. . . . It will help them to understand the importance and dynamics of the family and, more importantly, how to utilize the rich resources embedded in each family.” International Social Work “Has the overall flavor of sitting in a comfortable chair listening to a well-seasoned therapist expound on techniques and lore of family therapy garnered from many years in the trenches.” Family Relations “Helps family members rediscover family roots and use them as positive instruments for change within the family.” Readings (A Journal of Reviews and Commentary in Mental Health) “A superb book--long overdue and much needed in family therapy. It is broad in scope and yet achieves remarkable conceptual and thematic coherence. Freeman provides a definitive description of the various dimensions of multigenerational family practice and cogently delineates directions for optional assessment and intervention with families. His writing is lucid, compelling, and persuasively argued. This book is a must for both teachers and practitioners of family therapy.” Margaret R. Rodway, PhD, Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada “No family therapist--whether experienced practitioner, student, teacher, or supervisor--will want to miss Multigenerational Family Therapy. Anyone who has ever struggled to shift responses from content to the process of a family’s thinking will be delighted to have this method of inducing growth and change illustrated and demystified. After setting forth the goals and assumptions that guide his therapeutic interventions, Freeman illustrates these with transcripts of actual sessions in the beginning, middle, and ending phases of therapy involving adult couples. The clear annotations of these cases not only show the importance of including their parents, siblings, and other significant persons, but also demonstrate how this can be done effectively.” Carolyn L. Attneave, PhD, SciD, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington Contents: Contents Preface Family Therapy Family Theory The Major Systems Involved in the Family Therapy Process How to Begin the Family Therapy Process Family Therapy With Parents and Children Family Therapy With Couples Middle Phase of Family Therapy Family Therapy With Siblings Family Therapy With Individuals Endings Special Therapeutic Issues Bibliography Index from the publisher's website |