This introduction to couples and family counseling lays the foundation for student skill-building by encouraging the development of personal, professional, and ethical standards of practice. This third edition has been expanded to include couples counseling and updated to reflect recent research and current practice. Primary text features include a genogram delineating the history of the field; a comprehensive discussion of 13 widely used theories with real-life examples of quality work for each approach; a single, bicultural couple/family system case for comparison across models; and strategies for the integration and application of the models into clinical practice with diverse clients. To help readers apply the concepts they have learned, Dr. Bitter provides numerous Illustrative examples, case studies, sample client dialogues, and exercises for personal and professional growth. *Requests for digital versions from ACA can be found on www.wiley.com. *To purchase print copies, please visit the ACA website here *Reproduction requests for material from books published by ACA should be directed to [email protected]

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. Treatment Planning. 2. Structural Family Therapy. 3. Strategic Therapy. 4. Milan Systemic Approach. 5. MRI Approach. 6. Satir's Communication Approach. 7. Symbolic-Experiential Family Therapy. 8. Intergenerational Family Therapy. 9. Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy. 10. Solution-Focused Therapy. 11. Narrative Therapy. 12. Collaborative Therapies. Internet and Video Resources. Index.

A complete and accessible resource for working with couples and families Becoming a Family Counselor sets a new standard for family therapy texts. Working from a broad historical orientation, it focuses on the common themes that reappear across various theoretical approaches and connects family practice with individual approaches. Crossing boundaries of generation, gender, race, and culture, this useful introduction presents current thinking related to today's practice issues. The text begins with an overview of couple and family counseling, emphasizing the diversity and unity in the field. The development of the field is examined, from its roots in the nineteenth century through its identity crisis in the 1980s. Subsequent chapters lay out an integrated approach to contemporary family research, theory, and therapy; core chapters focus on understanding the contributions of behavioral, organizational, narrative, emotional, and spiritual perspectives. The last section of the book offers practical chapters on conducting family therapy in organizational contexts that often define the client in individual terms. Readers are encouraged to balance a change orientation with a respect for continuity and tradition. Complete with illuminating case studies, self-evaluation exercises, suggestions for independent study, and current ethics codes, Becoming a Family Counselor is a dynamic resource suitable for both students and practicing mental health professionals.

A comprehensive and practical approach to the world of marriage, couples, and family counseling Esteemed academics David Capuzzi and Mark D. Stauffer present the theory, research, and real-life practice of today's counselors and therapists in family therapy settings. Aligned with the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), this useful text covers foundational teaching important to readers, but also critical modern topics not included in other texts, such as sexuality, trauma, divorce, domestic violence, and addictions, filial play therapy, and using community genograms to position culture and context in family therapy. With a unique focus on practical applications, the book discusses the major family therapy theories, and provides graduate students and post-graduate learners in counseling, mental health, and behavioral health fields the skills and techniques they need to help couples and families as part of their work in a variety of helping environments. Each chapter contains case studies and anecdotes that help readers think critically about the issues they are likely to deal with as clinicians. Written by recognized and respected contributors, this book helps readers see the connection between what they know and what happens in couples and family counseling sessions. Readers will: Learn the knowledge and skills essential to family therapy Understand the history, concepts, and techniques associated with major theories Examine the key issues specific to couples work, with relevant intervention Explore solutions to the complexities generated by special issues Discusses the modern realities of family, diversity and culture, and systemic contexts Family and couples counseling presents a complex interplay of various factors inherent to each individual, the dynamic interplay between each person's issues, and the outside influences that shape behavior. Foundations of Couples, Marriage, and Family Counseling helps readers sort out the complexity and guide clients toward lasting resolution.

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 new edition of Couples Therapy tackles four challenges currently facing the field: (1) accountability and the increasing demands for demonstrating effectiveness as a condition for reimbursement, (2) the need for practitioners to reconfigure their practice patterns in an ever-involving health-care system, (3) training mental health practitioners who have not completed marital and family therapy (MFT) programs, and (4) integrating new couples approaches and interventions into everyday clinical practice. The book offers a focused vision and successful strategies for working effectively with couples, both today and tomorrow. It incorporates the best insights from the neurosciences as well as new couples theories, research, and evidence-based interventions, introducing approaches including psychoanalytic, systemic, cognitive behavioral, Adlerian, constructivist, third wave, integrative, and mindfulness-based. Chapters also present practical applications and professional considerations, with a comprehensive look at how to work with diverse issues in couples therapy, such as substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual dysfunction, infidelity, aging, and much more. This third edition of Couples Therapy is an essential resource for students as well as mental health practitioners, social workers, and family counselors who are keen to better meet the needs of couples and the demands of the changing healthcare landscape.

Learn the fundamentals of family therapy and treatment! An Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy presents insight and analysis from 20 of the foremost experts in the theoretical and practice areas of family therapy, offering a unique blend of approaches and styles. Chapters draw on each author's area of expertise in exploring the history of family therapy and the application of systems theory to families. Ideal as a comprehensive resource for entry-level students, the book also gives undergraduates a glimpse of graduate training and provides useful tips on how to apply to graduate school and what to expect while shopping for graduate education. An Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy is divided into two parts: a theoretical section, where commonly used theories are presented with practical case examples, and a section devoted to special issues and topics, such as couples therapy, communication training, marital enrichment and premarital counseling. The book also covers substance abuse, divorce, gender and culture, family violence, sexual dysfunctions and sex therapy treatment, and the interface of ethics and the legal system. An Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy also discusses: the history of family therapy systems theory and cybernetics structural and strategic family therapy cognitive-behavioral, experiential, and transgenerational therapies collaborative language-based models current research findings and much more! With its unique and comprehensive approach, An Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy serves as a theoretical introduction to the field of marriage and therapy and related mental health disciplines where family treatment is emphasized. The book is essential for educators in marriage and family counseling classes and is an invaluable resource for therapists, counselors, social work professionals, pastoral educators, and family psychologists.