The Clinical Manual of Couples and Family Therapy presents a conceptual framework for engaging families of psychiatric patients. It outlines practical, evidence-based family therapy skills that make it easier for clinicians to effectively integrate families into the treatment process. Moreover, it reestablishes the role of the psychiatrist as the leader of the team of professionals providing mental health care to patients in need. The underlying assumption in this concise manual is that most psychiatric symptoms or conditions evolve in a social context, and families can be useful in identifying the history, precipitants, and likely future obstacles to the management of presenting problems. The book clarifies the clinical decision-making process for establishing family involvement in patient care in different clinical settings, and it outlines distinct steps in family assessment and treatment within a biopsychosocial organizing framework that can be applied to all families, regardless of the patient's presenting problems. The book's approach is based on a broad model of family functioning, which provides a multidimensional description of families and has validated instruments to assess family functioning from both internal and external perspectives. Unique features and benefits of the manual include: A focus on one consistent model of assessment and treatment that can be applied to a wide range of psychiatric conditions and clinical settings Numerous case examples, tables, and charts throughout the text to further highlight the material A summary of key concepts at the end of each chapter A companion DVD, keyed to discussion in the text, that demonstrates how to perform a family assessment and treatment All psychiatrists should be proficient in assessing the social and familial context in which a patient's psychiatric illness evolves. The Clinical Manual of Couples and Family Therapy is a practical guide designed to facilitate a clinician's ability to evaluate and treat couples and families.

The latest theory, research, and practice information for family therapy The last twenty years have seen an explosion of new, innovative, and empirically supported therapeutic approaches for treating families. Mental health professionals working with families today apply a wide range of approaches to a variety of situations and clients using techniques based on their clinically and empirically proven effectiveness, their focus on specific individual and relational disorders, their applicability in various contexts, and their prominence in the field. In this accessible and comprehensive text, each chapter covers specific problems, the theoretical and practical elements of the treatment approach, recommended intervention strategies, special considerations, supporting research, and clinical examples. The contributors provide step-by-step guidelines for implementing the approaches described and discuss particular issues that arise in different couple, family, and cultural contexts. Handbook of Clinical Family Therapy covers treatment strategies for the most common problems encountered in family therapy, including: Domestic violence Adolescent defiance, anxiety, and depression Trauma-induced problems Stepfamily conflicts ADHD disruption Substance abuse in adults and adolescents Couple conflict and divorce Chronic illness A detailed reference for today's best treatment strategies, the Handbook of Clinical Family Therapy brings together the top practitioners and scholars to produce an innovative and user-friendly guide for clinicians and students alike.

An ideal supplemental text, this instructive casebook presents in-depth illustrations of treatment based on the most important couple therapy models. An array of leading clinicians offer a window onto how they work with clients grappling with mild and more serious clinical concerns, including conflicts surrounding intimacy, sex, power, and communication; parenting issues; and mental illness. Featuring couples of varying ages, cultural backgrounds, and sexual orientations, the cases shed light on both what works and what doesn't work when treating intimate partners. Each candid case presentation includes engaging comments and discussion questions from the editor. See also Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy, Fourth Edition, also edited by Alan S. Gurman, which provides an authoritative overview of theory and practice.

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.

This new Handbook of Family Therapy is the culmination of a decade of achievements within the field of family and couples therapy, emerging from and celebrating the dynamic evolution of marriage and family theory, practice, and research. The editors have unified the efforts of the profession's major players in bringing the most up-to-date and innovative information to the forefront of both educational and practice settings. They review the major theoretical approaches and break new ground by identifying and describing the current era of evidence-based models and contemporary areas of application. The Handbook of Family Therapy is a comprehensive, progressive, and skillful presentation of the science and practice of family and couples therapy, and a valuable resource for practitioners and students alike.

The editors and contributors of this comprehensive text provide a unique and important contribution to LGBT clinical literature. Spanning 30 chapters, they discuss the diverse and complex issues involved in LGBT couple and family therapy. In almost 15 years, this book provides the first in-depth overview of the best practices for therapists and those in training who wish to work effectively with LGBT clients, couples, and families need to know, and is only the second of its kind in the history of the field. The clinical issues discussed include • raising LGBT children • coming out • elderly LGBT issues • sex therapy • ethical and training issues Because of the breadth of the book, its specificity, and the expertise of the contributing authors and editors, it is the definitive handbook on LGBT couple and family therapy.

Now updated in its second edition, Handbook of Clinical Issues in Couple Therapy provides a comprehensive overview of emerging issues that impact couple therapy. Unlike other guides that concentrate more on theoretical approaches, this invaluable resource contains the latest research and perspectives that every clinician needs when dealing with the challenging issues often found in practice. Carefully referenced, it explores a range of issues that include intimate partner violence, posttraumatic stress disorder and its effect on couple relationships, divorce therapy, remarriage and cohabitation issues, cultural issues, and couple therapist training. This insightful edited volume is suitable for a wide spectrum of readers, including couple and family therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, pastoral counselors, educators, and graduate students.