Discusses the author's experiences over forty years of being a family psychotherapist

This textbook aims to introduce students to the foundational concepts of the marriage and family therapy field, providing a comprehensive overview of a range of models and their practical application. Designed specifically for distance-learning, Yulia Watters and Darren Adamson bring together a collection of experienced marriage and family therapists to teach the absolute essentials of marriage and family therapy without peripheral or incidental information. Iterative in its presentation, the book introduces important systems concepts, provides a compelling history of family therapy, presents detailed exploration of classical and postmodern approaches to therapy, and covers clinical application and treatment planning. It uniquely follows the course structure of the first institution to receive Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) accreditation for both master’s and doctoral online programs, giving students the fundamental knowledge they need to help them prepare for their licensing examination and subsequent practice as MFTs. Written for students seeking to be MFT practitioners, this important volume adds a fresh perspective to teaching and application of family therapy.

Family Therapy: The Basics provides a clear and concise overview of the field of family therapy and its foundational models. This text explores the history, skills, and theories upon which family therapy rests, highlighting the main figures, concepts, ethical principles, and methods.Focusing on the breadth of the field, readers are provided answers to some of the most important questions for potential therapists: What are the primary skills family therapists use to help families change? How do family therapists incorporate aspects of diversity into their practice? What are the major models of family therapy practice? Where is the field of family therapy headed in the future? Family Therapy: The Basics is an ideal introduction for students exploring the field of psychotherapy and how a focus on the family and the use of various family therapy theories can help shift family organizations and relationships.

"Alan Carr has once more demonstrated his unique ability to combinean encyclopaedic breadth of knowledge with clear pragmatic ideasabout how to apply this knowledge in clinical practice. The2nd edition of this book is more than just an updatewith new sections on common factors in therapy and on integrativemodels of family therapy which are particularly welcome." —Ivan Eisler, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London,UK Editor, Journal of Family Therapy "Carr’s style of comprehensively considering differenttheories and approaches in a practical manner and demonstratingtheir integrative and cohesive properties is exceptionally helpfuland grounding for the reader. There is little doubt that thisvolume will well serve students, trainees and experiencedpractitioners for sometime to come." —Eddy Street, Former Editor of Journal of FamilyTherapy Now in its second edition, Family Therapy: Concepts, Processand Practice has been fully updated to cover recent advances intheory and practice. It offers a critical evaluation of the majorschools of family therapy, provides an integrative model for thepractice of marital and family therapy, and demonstrates how thismodel can be used in everyday practice with a range of commonchild-focused and adult-focused problems. It also provides athorough, up-to-date review of research on the effectiveness offamily therapy and outlines implications for evidence-basedpractice. This popular text now includes exercises that can be used bytrainers and trainees to foster family therapy skills development.Other key features from the first edition are retained,including: Chapter plans at the start of each chapter and a helpfulsummary of key points at the end Suggestions for further reading Glossary of key terms in theoretical chapters Case examples Full details of resources for professionals, including usefulweb sites. Family Therapy: Concepts, Process and Practice is amust-have resource for all students and mental health professionalstraining in family therapy. It will also be of interest toexperienced practitioners, and those who are involved in deliveringtraining programmes.

The teaching of family therapy has been the subject of serious scrutiny since the onset of training and accreditation many years ago, yet there are relatively few attempts to apply what we know about systems and the ways they change family therapy teaching as a two-way process. It is as though family therapy teachers were preoccupied with the content of what should be taught, and were not able to direct their attention to the process by which people learned. The authors began by describing the way they conceptualize the "learning context" which sets the frame for all the teaching they do. Then they discuss the process of setting up a family therapy course, e.g. "What is the best way to negotiate with a training officer to set up a course in a local area?". The book then moves to creating the course syllabus, and some of the practical problems-from lateness to mechanical failures-of getting the course off the ground.

No other available text offers such a hands-on approach to marriage and family therapy theory. At the core of Systemic Family Therapy are comprehensive sections devoted to each developmental phase of the family therapy movement. With clear descriptions and session-by-session case examples, the author explores specific approaches within each of these phases. With this pragmatic tenor, students will gain a clear and in-depth understanding of how family theory concepts relate to practice–as well as ways those concepts interact with each other. Key Features Uses specific examples and session-by-session case studies to illustrate how theoretical construct actually work in practice Outlines the shifts in thinking of the family therapy field–from modern to postmodern Uses rich graphic representations and straightforward tables to illustrate key theoretical concepts Incorporates compelling questions and learning exercises that will lead to dynamic class discussions Intended Audience A refreshing departure from traditional instruction of family therapy theory, this core textbook is an excellent resource for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students of family therapy, counseling, social work, and family studies.

This cutting-edge second edition of The Craft of Family Therapy revisits some of Salvador Minuchin’s most famous cases, guiding trainee therapists through basic techniques and ideas while illuminating the unique voice of Minuchin as the founder of Structural Family Therapy. The book begins by teaching readers the fundamentals of family therapy through the lens of rich commentary from Salvador Minuchin on some of his most interesting cases. It then moves on to three detailed supervision transcripts from Minuchin’s former students, illustrating the struggles, fears, and insecurities that new family therapists face and how they can overcome them. In a new, ground-breaking third section, Reiter and Borda share their own lessons from Minuchin as well as expand his influential ideas, emphasizing a strength-based family therapy approach. Written in an accessible, practical style, The Craft of Family Therapy, 2nd edition draws on a wealth of fascinating case examples to bring Minuchin’s theory and experience to today’s family therapists and psychotherapists in practice and training.