Dab solver - Family therapy

Most tools require the use of JavaScript. If you are using Firefox with the NoScript addon, please mark toolserver.org as trusted. See the Help page for details.

Feedback / Report a bug

1 point on this page / 19,509 points earned collectively this month / Disambiguate pages on your watchlist

Applying English Wikipedia commonfixes
Using redirect [[Urgesellschaft|specialization]] for [[Society#Evolution of societies|specialization]]

The movement received an important boost in the mid-1950s through the work of [[anthropology|anthropologist]] [[Gregory Bateson]] and colleagues – [[Jay Haley]], [[Donald deAvila Jackson|Donald D. Jackson]], [[John Weakland]], , and later, [[Virginia Satir]], [[Paul Watzlawick]] and others – at [[Palo Alto]] in the United States, who introduced ideas from [[cybernetics]] and [[general systems theory]] into [[social psychology]] and [[psychotherapy]], focusing in particular on the role of [[Communication theory|communication]] (see [[Bateson Project]]). This approach eschewed the traditional focus on individual psychology and historical factors – that involve so-called [[linear causation]] and content – and emphasized instead [[feedback]] and [[homeostatic]]  mechanisms and “rules” in here-and-now interactions – so-called [[circular causation]] and process – that were thought to maintain or exacerbate problems, whatever the original cause(s).^ref^ref (See also [[systems psychology]] and [[systemic therapy]].)  This group was also influenced significantly by the work of [[United States|US]] [[psychiatrist]], [[hypnotherapy|hypnotherapist]], and [[brief therapy|brief therapist]], [[Milton H. Erickson]] - especially his innovative use of strategies for change, such as paradoxical directives (see also [[Reverse psychology]]). The members of the [[Bateson Project]] (like the founders of a number of other schools of family therapy, including [[Carl Whitaker]], [[Murray Bowen]], and [[Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy]]) had a particular interest in the possible [[wikt:psychosocial|]] causes and treatment of [[schizophrenia]], especially in terms of the putative "meaning" and "function" of [[medical sign|sign]]s and [[symptom]]s within the family system. The research of [[psychiatrist]]s and [[psychoanalyst]]s [[Lyman Wynne]] and [[Theodore Lidz]] on communication deviance and roles (e.g., pseudo-mutuality, pseudo-hostility, schism and skew) in families of [[schizophrenia|schizophrenics]] also became influential with systems-communications-oriented theorists and therapists.^ref^ref A related theme, applying to [[dysfunctional family|dysfunction]] and [[psychopathology]] more generally, was that of the "[[identified patient]]" or "presenting problem" as a manifestation of or surrogate for the family's, or even society's, problems. (See also [[double bind]]; [[family nexus]].)34 lines hidden (8736 characters)
The distinctive feature of family therapy is its perspective and analytical framework rather than the number of people present at a therapy session.  Specifically, family therapists are relational therapists:  They are generally more interested in what goes on between individuals rather than within one or more individuals, although some family therapists—in particular those who identify as [[psychodynamic]], [[object relations]], intergenerational, , or experiential family therapists—tend to be as interested in individuals as in the systems those individuals and their relationships constitute.  Depending on the conflicts at issue and the progress of therapy to date, a therapist may focus on analyzing specific previous instances of conflict, as by reviewing a past incident and suggesting alternative ways family members might have responded to one another during it, or instead proceed directly to addressing the sources of conflict at a more abstract level, as by pointing out patterns of interaction that the family might have not noticed.126 lines hidden (14545 characters)
|-
| [[Virginia Satir|Communications Approaches]] || [[Virginia Satir]], John Banmen, Jane Gerber, Maria Gomori || All people are born into a primary survival triad between themselves and their parents where they adopt survival stances to protect their self-worth from threats communicated by words and behaviors of their family members. Experiential therapists are interested in altering the overt and covert messages between family members that affect their body, mind and feelings in order to promote congruence and to validate each person’s inherent self-worth. || Equality, Modeling Communication, Family Life Chronology, Family Sculpting, Metaphors, Family Reconstruction
|-
| [[Contextual therapy|Contextual Therapy]] || [[Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy]] || Families are built upon an unconscious network of implicit loyalties between parents and children that can be damaged when these "relational ethics" of fairness, trust, entitlement, mutuality and merit are breached. || Rebalancing, Family Negotiations, Validation,  Debt Repayment
|-
| [[Emotion-Focused Therapy]] || [[Sue Johnson]], [[Les Greenberg]] || Couples and families can develop rigid patterns of interaction based on powerful emotional experiences that hinder emotional engagement and trust. Treatment aims to enhance empathic capabilities of family members by exploring deep-seated habits and modifying emotional cues. || Reflecting, Validation, Heightening, Reframing, Restructuring
|-8 lines hidden (2063 characters)
|-
| [[...|MRI Brief Therapy]] || [[Gregory Bateson]], [[Milton Erickson]], [[Heinz von Foerster]] || Established by the [[Mental Research Institute]] (MRI) as a synthesis of ideas from multiple theorists in order to interrupt misguided attempts by families to create first and second order change by persisting with "more of the same," mixed signals from unclear metacommunication and paradoxical double-bind messages. || Reframing, Prescribing the Symptom, Relabeling, Restraining (Going Slow), [[Bellac Ploy]]
|-
| [[Narrative therapy|Narrative Therapy]] || [[Michael White (psychotherapist)|]], [[David Epston]] || People use stories to make sense of their experience and to establish their identity as a social and political constructs based on local knowledge. Narrative therapists avoid marginalizing their clients by positioning themselves as a co-editor of their reality with the idea that "the person is not the problem, but the problem is the problem." || [[Deconstruction]],  Problems, Mapping, Asking Permission
|-
| [[Object relations theory|Object Relations Therapy]] || Hazan & Shaver, David Scharff & Jill Scharff, [[James Framo]], || Individuals choose relationships that attempt to heal insecure attachments from childhood. Negative patterns established by their parents (object) are projected onto their partners. || Detriangulation, Co-Therapy, [[Psychoanalysis]], Holding Environment
|-

Single scrollbar

{{Interventions infobox 
|  Name        = Family therapy
|  Image       = 
|  Caption     = 
|  ICD10       = 
|  ICD9        = {{ICD9proc|94.42}} 
|  MeshID      = D005196
|  OtherCodes  = 
}}
'''Family therapy''', also referred to as '''couple and family therapy''',  '''marriage and family therapy''', '''family systems therapy''', and '''family counseling''', is a branch of [[psychotherapy]] that works with [[family|families]] and couples in [[intimate relationship]]s to nurture change and development. It tends to view change in terms of the [[system]]s of interaction between family members. It emphasizes family relationships as an important factor in psychological health.

The different schools of family therapy have in common  a belief that, regardless of the origin of the problem, and regardless of whether the clients consider it an "individual" or "family" issue, involving families in solutions often benefits clients. This involvement of families is commonly accomplished by their direct participation in the therapy session. The skills of the family therapist thus include the ability to influence conversations in a way that catalyses the strengths, wisdom, and support of the wider system.

In the field's early years, many clinicians defined the [[family]] in a narrow, traditional manner usually including parents and children. As the field has evolved, the concept of the family is more commonly defined in terms of strongly supportive, long-term roles and relationships between people who may or may not be related by blood or marriage.

The conceptual frameworks developed by family therapists, especially those of
[[systems psychology|family systems theorists]], have been applied to a wide range of human behaviour, including [[industrial and organisational psychology|organisational dynamics]] and the study of [[greatness]].

==History and theoretical frameworks==

Formal [[wikt:intervention|intervention]]s with families to help individuals and families experiencing various kinds of problems have been a part of many cultures, probably throughout history. These interventions have sometimes involved formal procedures or [[ritual]]s, and often included the [[extended family]] as well as non-[[kinship|kin]] members of the [[community]] (see for example [[Ho'oponopono]]). Following the emergence of [[Urgesellschaft|specialization]] in various societies, these interventions were often conducted by particular members of a community – for example, a [[Tribal chief|chief]], [[priest]], [[physician]], and so on - usually as an ancillary function.<ref name=broderick>Broderick, C.B. & Schrader, S.S. (1991). The History of Professional Marriage and Family Therapy. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), [http://www.amazon.com/reader/0876306423?%5Fencoding=UTF8&ref%5F=sib%5Fdp%5Fpt#reader ''Handbook of Family Therapy. Vol. 2.'']  NY: Brunner/Mazel</ref>

Family therapy as a distinct [[professional]] practice within [[Western culture]]s can be argued to have had its origins in the [[social work]] movements of the 19th century in the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]].<ref name=broderick/> As a branch of [[psychotherapy]], its roots can be traced somewhat later to the early 20th century with the emergence of the ''child guidance'' movement and ''marriage counseling''.<ref name=sholevar>Sholevar, G.P. (2003). Family Theory and Therapy. In Sholevar, G.P. & Schwoeri, L.D. [http://www.google.com.au/books?id=lQh0y2E_zzcC&pg=PR3&dq=isbn:0880485183&as_brr=0&sig=51q_iShG76ZZ2mqK16iR4Kw6JlA#PPP1,M1 ''Textbook of Family and Couples Therapy: Clinical Applications.''] Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing Inc.</ref> The formal development of family therapy dates to the 1940s and early 1950s with the founding in 1942 of the ''American Association of Marriage Counselors'' (the precursor of the [[AAMFT]]), and through the work of various independent [[wikt:clinician|clinicians]] and groups - in the United Kingdom ([[John Bowlby]] at the [[Tavistock Clinic]]), the United States ([[John Elderkin Bell]], [[Nathan Ackerman]], [[Christian Midelfort]], [[Theodore Lidz]], [[Lyman Wynne]], [[Murray Bowen]], [[Carl Whitaker]], [[Virginia Satir]]), and [[Hungary]] ([[D.L.P. Liebermann]]) - who began seeing family members together for observation or therapy sessions.<ref name=broderick/><ref>Silverman, M. & Silverman, M. Psychiatry Inside the Family Circle. ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]'', 46-51. 28 July 1962.</ref> There was initially a strong influence from [[psychoanalysis]] (most of the early founders of the field had psychoanalytic backgrounds) and [[social psychiatry]], and later from [[Behaviorism|learning theory]] and [[behavior therapy]] - and significantly, these clinicians began to articulate various theories about the nature and functioning of the family as an entity that was more than a mere aggregation of individuals.<ref name=sholevar/>

The movement received an important boost in the mid-1950s through the work of [[anthropology|anthropologist]] [[Gregory Bateson]] and colleagues – [[Jay Haley]], [[Donald deAvila Jackson|Donald D. Jackson]], [[John Weakland]], <<link:0>>, and later, [[Virginia Satir]], [[Paul Watzlawick]] and others – at [[Palo Alto]] in the United States, who introduced ideas from [[cybernetics]] and [[general systems theory]] into [[social psychology]] and [[psychotherapy]], focusing in particular on the role of [[Communication theory|communication]] (see [[Bateson Project]]). This approach eschewed the traditional focus on individual psychology and historical factors – that involve so-called ''[[linear causation]]'' and ''content'' – and emphasized instead ''[[feedback]]'' and ''[[homeostatic]]''  mechanisms and ''“rules”'' in ''here-and-now interactions'' – so-called ''[[circular causation]]'' and ''process'' – that were thought to maintain or exacerbate problems, whatever the original cause(s).<ref>Guttman, H.A. (1991). Systems Theory, Cybernetics, and Epistemology. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), [http://www.amazon.com/reader/0876306423?%5Fencoding=UTF8&ref%5F=sib%5Fdp%5Fpt#reader ''Handbook of Family Therapy. Vol. 2.'']  NY: Brunner/Mazel</ref><ref name=becvar>Becvar, D.S., & Becvar, R.J. (2008). [http://www.amazon.com/Family-Therapy-Systemic-Integration-7th/dp/0205609236/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top ''Family therapy: A systemic integration.''] 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.</ref> ''(See also [[systems psychology]] and [[systemic therapy]].)''  This group was also influenced significantly by the work of [[United States|US]] [[psychiatrist]], [[hypnotherapy|hypnotherapist]], and [[brief therapy|brief therapist]], [[Milton H. Erickson]] - especially his innovative use of strategies for change, such as ''paradoxical directives'' ''(see also [[Reverse psychology]])''. The members of the [[Bateson Project]] (like the founders of a number of other schools of family therapy, including [[Carl Whitaker]], [[Murray Bowen]], and [[Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy]]) had a particular interest in the possible [[wikt:psychosocial|psychosocial]] causes and treatment of [[schizophrenia]], especially in terms of the putative "meaning" and "function" of [[medical sign|sign]]s and [[symptom]]s within the family system. The research of [[psychiatrist]]s and [[psychoanalyst]]s [[Lyman Wynne]] and [[Theodore Lidz]] on ''communication deviance'' and ''roles'' (e.g., ''pseudo-mutuality'', ''pseudo-hostility'', ''schism'' and ''skew'') in families of [[schizophrenia|schizophrenics]] also became influential with ''systems-communications''-oriented theorists and therapists.<ref name=sholevar/><ref name=barker>Barker, P. (2007). [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=TsBZVb3ccCcC&source=gbs_navlinks_s ''Basic family therapy'']; 5th edition. Wiley-Blackwell.</ref> A related theme, applying to [[dysfunctional family|dysfunction]] and [[psychopathology]] more generally, was that of the "[[identified patient]]" or ''"presenting problem"'' as a manifestation of or surrogate for the family's, or even society's, problems. ''(See also [[double bind]]; [[family nexus]].)''

By the mid-1960s, a number of distinct schools of family therapy had emerged. From those groups that were most strongly influenced by [[cybernetics]] and [[systems theory]], there came [[Mental Research Institute|MRI Brief Therapy]], and slightly later, [[strategic therapy]], [[Salvador Minuchin]]'s ''[[Structural Family Therapy]]'' and  the [[Mara Selvini Palazzoli|Milan systems]] model. Partly in reaction to some aspects of these ''systemic'' models, came the ''experiential'' approaches of [[Virginia Satir]] and [[Carl Whitaker]], which downplayed theoretical constructs, and emphasized [[subjectivity|subjective]] [[experience]] and unexpressed [[feeling]]s (including the [[subconscious]]), authentic communication, spontaneity, creativity, total therapist engagement, and often included the [[extended family]]. Concurrently and somewhat independently, there emerged the various ''intergenerational'' therapies of [[Murray Bowen]], [[Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy]], [[James Framo]], and Norman Paul, which present different theories about the intergenerational transmission of health and [[Dysfunctional family|dysfunction]], but which all deal usually with at least three generations of a family (in person or conceptually), either directly in therapy sessions, or via ''"homework"'', ''"journeys home"'', etc. ''Psychodynamic'' family therapy - which, more than any other school of family therapy, deals directly with individual psychology and the [[unconscious mind|unconscious]] in the context of current relationships - continued to develop through a number of groups that were influenced by the ideas and methods of [[Nathan Ackerman]], and also by the ''British School'' of [[object relations theory|Object Relations]] and [[John Bowlby]]’s work on [[attachment theory|attachment]]. ''Multiple-family [[group therapy]]'', a precursor of ''[[psychoeducation]]al family intervention'', emerged, in part, as a pragmatic alternative form of intervention - especially as an adjunct to the treatment of serious [[mental disorder]]s with a significant [[Biological psychiatry|biological]] basis, such as [[schizophrenia]] - and represented something of a conceptual challenge to some of the ''"systemic"'' (and thus potentially "family-blaming") [[paradigm]]s of [[wikt:pathogenesis|pathogenesis]] that were implicit in many of the dominant models of family therapy. The late-1960s and early-1970s saw the development of ''network therapy'' (which bears some resemblance to traditional practices such as [[Ho'oponopono]]) by [[Ross Speck]] and Carolyn Attneave, and the emergence of ''behavioral marital therapy'' (renamed ''behavioral couples therapy'' in the 1990s; see also ''[[relationship counseling]]'') and ''behavioral family therapy'' as models in their own right.<ref name=sholevar/>

By the late-1970s, the weight of clinical experience - especially in relation to the treatment of serious [[mental disorder]]s - had led to some revision of a number of the original models and  a moderation of some of the earlier stridency and theoretical [[wikt:purism|purism]]. There were the beginnings of a general softening of the strict demarcations between schools, with moves toward [[rapprochement]], integration, and [[eclecticism]] – although there was, nevertheless, some hardening of positions within some schools. These trends were reflected in and influenced by lively debates within the field and critiques from various sources, including [[feminism]] and [[post-modernism]], that reflected in part the cultural and political tenor of the times, and which foreshadowed the emergence (in the 1980s and 1990s) of the various ''"post-systems"'' [[constructivist epistemology|constructivist]] and [[social constructionism|social constructionist]] approaches. While there was still debate within the field about whether, or to what degree, the ''systemic-constructivist'' and ''medical-biological'' paradigms were necessarily [[wikt:antithetical|antithetical]] to each other ''(see also [[Anti-psychiatry]]; [[Biopsychosocial model]])'', there was a growing willingness and tendency on the part of family therapists to work in multi-modal clinical partnerships with other members of the [[wikt:helping profession|helping]] and [[medical]] professions.<ref name=sholevar/><ref name=barker/><ref name=nichols>Nichols, M.P. & Schwartz, R.C. (2006). [http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/search_results.jsp?quicksearch=1&searchType=isbn&searchData=0205478093#Book%20details ''Family therapy: concepts and methods.''] 7th ed. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.</ref>

From the mid-1980s to the present, the field has been marked by a diversity of approaches that partly reflect the original schools, but which also draw on other theories and methods from individual [[psychotherapy]] and elsewhere – these approaches and sources include: [[brief therapy]], [[Salvador Minuchin|structural therapy]],  [[Constructivist epistemology|constructivist]] approaches (e.g., [[Mara Selvini Palazzoli|Milan systems]], ''post-Milan/collaborative/conversational'', ''reflective''), [[Solution focused brief therapy|solution-focused therapy]], [[narrative therapy]], a range of [[cognitive behavioral therapy|cognitive and behavioral]] approaches, [[psychodynamic]] and [[object relations theory|object relations]] approaches, [[attachment theory|attachment]] and [[Emotionally Focused Therapy]], ''intergenerational'' approaches, ''network therapy'', and [[multisystemic therapy]] (MST).<ref>{{cite journal | author = Sprenkle D.H., Bischof G.P. | year = 1994 | title = Contemporary family therapy in the United States | journal = Journal of Family Therapy | volume = 16 | issue = 1| pages = 5–23 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-6427.1994.00773.x }}</ref><ref>Dattilio, F.R. (Ed.) (1998). [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=cIpLzYK08OEC&dq=isbn:1572302976&lr=&as_brr=0 ''Case Studies in Couple and Family Therapy: Systemic and Cognitive Perspectives.''] Guildford Press: New York.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Gurman A.S., Fraenkel P. | year = 2002 | title = The history of couple therapy: a millennial review | url = http://books.google.com/?id=2Tim-31OuLUC&pg=PA199 | journal = Family Process | volume = 41 | issue = 2| pages = 199–260 | isbn = 978-1-4051-2718-9 | doi = 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2002.41204.x | pmid = 12140960 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-29901415_ITM Couple therapy] ''Harvard Mental Health Letter'' 03/01/2007.</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=NgjDKhgn5dcC&pg=PA278&dq=%22Beatrice+L.+Wood%22&sig=SySglYD-8H6w_hOdcmbS-WIBark#PPA285,M1 Attachment and Family Systems.] ''Family Process.'' Special Issue: Fall 2002 41(3)</ref><ref>Denborough, D. (2001). [http://www.narrativetherapylibrary.com/catalog_details.asp?ID=24 ''Family Therapy: Exploring the Field's Past, Present and Possible Futures''.] Adelaide, South Australia: Dulwich Centre Publications.</ref><ref>Crago, H. (2006). [http://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/html/0335216889.html ''Couple, Family and Group Work: First Steps in Interpersonal Intervention.''] Maidenhead, Berkshire; New York: Open University Press.</ref><ref>Van Buren, J. [http://www.minddisorders.com/Kau-Nu/Multisystemic-therapy.html Multisystemic therapy.] ''Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders.'' retrieved 29 October 2009</ref> [[Multicultural]], [[Intercultural competence|intercultural]], and [[Integrative Psychotherapy|integrative]] approaches are being developed.<ref>McGoldrick, M. (Ed.) (1998). [http://books.google.com/books?id=olUbQdOIbpMC&pg=PP1&dq=%22re-visioning+family+therapy%22&sig=1fR-xV8oYXSA59Fw05eVdTD8KNI#PPR17,M1 ''Re-Visioning Family Therapy: Race, Culture, and Gender in Clinical Practice.''] Guilford Press: New York.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Dean R.G. | year = 2001 | title = The Myth of Cross-Cultural Competence | url = http://serials.cib.unibo.it/cgi-ser/start/it/spogli/df-s.tcl?prog_art=4546118&language=ITALIANO&view=articoli | journal = Families in Society: the Journal of Contemporary Human Services | volume = 82 | issue = 6| pages = 623–30 }}</ref><ref>Krause, I-B. (2002). [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=K0nxrokAcv8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0 ''Culture and System in Family Therapy.''] London; New York: Karnac.</ref><ref>Ng, K.S. (2003). [http://books.google.com/books?id=MxZReiuXeYkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:1583913114#PPA118,M1 ''Global Perspectives in Family Therapy: Development, Practice, and Trends.''] New York: Brunner-Routledge.</ref><ref>McGoldrick, M., Giordano, J. & Garcia-Preto, N. (2005). [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6Al1kB_6GyMC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&ots=cS8lq0EnF3&sig=kcUUo0GzHf_3pnwGB-RL4VDpiN8#PPA1,M1 ''Ethnicity & Family Therapy''], 3rd Ed.: Guilford Press.</ref><ref>Nichols, M.P. & Schwartz, R.C. (2006). Recent Developments in Family Therapy: Integrative Models; in [http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/search_results.jsp?quicksearch=1&searchType=isbn&searchData=0205478093#Book%20details ''Family therapy: concepts and methods.''] 7th ed. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.</ref> Many practitioners claim to be "[[Eclecticism|eclectic]]," using techniques from several areas, depending upon their own inclinations and/or the needs of the client(s), and there is a growing movement toward a single “generic” family therapy that seeks to incorporate the best of the accumulated knowledge in the field and which can be adapted to many different contexts;<ref>Lebow, J. (2005). [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=fchBsWqa0TQC&dq=isbn:0471431346&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_brr=0 Handbook of clinical family therapy.] Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.</ref> however, there are still a significant number of  therapists who adhere more or less strictly to a particular, or limited number of, approach(es).<ref>{{cite journal | author = Booth T.J., Cottone R.R. | year = 2000 | title = Measurement, Classification, and Prediction of Paradigm Adherence of Marriage and Family Therapists | url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/uaft/2000/00000028/00000004/art00003;jsessionid=2nu8vt826omdf.alice?format=print | journal = American Journal of Family Therapy | volume = 28 | issue = 4| pages = 329–346 | doi = 10.1080/019261800437892 }}</ref>

Ideas and methods from family therapy have been influential in psychotherapy generally: a survey of over 2,500 US therapists in 2006 revealed that of the 10 most influential therapists of the previous quarter-century, three were prominent family therapists and that the marital and family systems model was the second most utilized model after [[cognitive behavioral therapy]].<ref>[http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/magazine/populartopics/219-the-top-10 The Top 10: The Most Influential Therapists of the Past Quarter-Century.] ''Psychotherapy Networker.'': 2007, March/April (retrieved 7 October 2010)</ref>

Public understanding of family issues can be increased through using mass media to foster increased understanding of topics that can be helpful. Examples included bullying, educational handicaps, intelligence, race and gender concerns and health areas such as the implications of nutrition, exercise, etc., in facilitating positive social change. Bernard Luskin, Ed.D., LMFT, has been a leading advocate in urging the use of media studies and media psychology as vehicles to improve a broader grasp of family issues. This is important for legislation in mental health, health services and positive change in family related social issues.

==Techniques==
Family therapy uses a range of [[counseling]] and other techniques including:
structural therapy - Looks at the Identifies and Re-Orders the organisation of the family system
Strategic therapy - Looks at patterns of interactions between family members
Systemic/Milan therapy - Focuses on belief systems
Narrative Therapy - Restorying of dominant problem-saturated narrative, emphasis on context, separation of the problem from the person
Transgenerational Therapy - Transgenerational transmission of unhelpful patterns of belief and behaviour.

*[[communication theory]]
*[[media and communications psychology]]
*[[psychoeducation]]
*[[psychotherapy]]
*[[relationship education]]
*[[systemic coaching]]
*[[systems theory]]
*[[reality therapy]]
*[[attachment-focused family therapy]]
*[[genogram|the genogram]]

The number of sessions depends on the situation, but the average is 5-20 sessions. A family therapist usually meets several members of the family at the same time. This has the advantage of making differences between the ways family members perceive mutual relations as well as interaction patterns in the session apparent both for the therapist and the family. These patterns frequently mirror habitual interaction patterns at home, even though the therapist is now incorporated into the family system. Therapy interventions usually focus on relationship patterns rather than on analyzing impulses of the [[unconscious mind]] or [[early childhood]] [[Psychological trauma|trauma]] of individuals as a [[Freud]]ian therapist would do - although some schools of family therapy, for example ''psychodynamic'' and ''intergenerational'', do consider such individual and historical factors (thus embracing both ''linear'' and ''circular'' causation) and they may use instruments such as the [[genogram]] to help to elucidate the patterns of relationship across generations.

The distinctive feature of family therapy is its perspective and analytical framework rather than the number of people present at a therapy session.  Specifically, family therapists are relational therapists:  They are generally more interested in what goes on ''between'' individuals rather than ''within'' one or more individuals, although some family therapists—in particular those who identify as [[psychodynamic]], [[object relations]], ''intergenerational'', <<link:1>>, or ''experiential'' family therapists—tend to be as interested in individuals as in the ''systems'' those individuals and their relationships constitute.  Depending on the conflicts at issue and the progress of therapy to date, a therapist may focus on analyzing specific previous instances of conflict, as by reviewing a past incident and suggesting alternative ways family members might have responded to one another during it, or instead proceed directly to addressing the sources of conflict at a more abstract level, as by pointing out patterns of interaction that the family might have not noticed.

Family therapists tend to be more interested in the maintenance and/or solving of problems rather than in trying to identify a single cause.  Some families may perceive cause-effect analyses as attempts to allocate blame to one or more individuals, with the effect that for many families a focus on causation is of little or no clinical utility. It is important to note that a circular way of problem evaluation is used as opposed to a linear route. Using this method, families can be helped by finding patterns of behaviour, what the causes are, and what can be done to better their situation.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Gale|first=Barbara|title=Family therapy|journal=Bereavement Care|year=2007|month=December|volume=26|issue=3|pages=58–59}}</ref>

==Publications==

Family therapy journals include: 
*Family Relations. Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies. (ISSN 0197-6664)
* Journal of Marital and Family Therapy <ref>http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1752-0606</ref>
* [http://www.familyprocess.org/ ''Family Process'']
* [[Journal of Family Therapy]]
* Journal of Systemic Therapies <ref>http://guilfordjournals.com/loi/jsyt</ref>
* The Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy <ref>http://www.anzjft.com/pages/index.php</ref>
* The Psychotherapy Networker [http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/]
* The Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy <ref>http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/usmt20/current</ref>
* The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work [http://narrativetherapyonline.com/moodle/]
* Journal for the Study of Human Interaction and Family Therapy <ref>http://www.mindfortherapy.com/shift--journal.html</ref>

==Evidence base==
{{POV-section|date=October 2012}}

Family therapy has an evolving evidence base. A summary of current evidence is available via the UK's ''Association of Family Therapy''. <ref>http://www.aft.org.uk/training/view/academic-and-research-training.html#</ref>

According to a 2004 French government study conducted by [[INSERM]], Family and couple's therapy was the second most effective therapy after [[Cognitive behavioral therapy]].<ref name="INSERM">{{citation|author=National Institute for health and medical research|year=2004|title=Psychotherapy: Three approaches evaluated|PMID=21348158}}</ref> The study used [[meta-analysis]] of over a hundred [[secondary source#In science and medicine|secondary studies]] to find some level of effectiveness that was either "proven" or "presumed" to exist. Of the treatments studied, family therapy was presumed or proven effective at treating [[schizophrenia]], [[bipolar disorder]], [[anorexia nervosa|anorexia]] and [[alcoholism|alcohol dependency]].<ref name="INSERM" />

==Concerns and criticism==

The late [[Frank Pittman|Frank Pittman, MD]], had practiced marriage and family therapy in Atlanta, GA for 33 years when he wrote:

{{Quotation|"One of the horrors of psychotherapy is the affirmation clients may feel from their seemingly neutral therapists that they are 'okay' even when they are doing terrible things to themselves and their loved ones. Some therapists listen without comment to tales of violence, substance abuse, infidelity, even incest. Their silence is tacit approval. Some therapists do worse than silently accept whatever the customer says or does; some actively affirm that the customer is always right. Therapists, as they ingratiate themselves to their customers, may actually provide 'interpretations' to relieve clients of the guilt they need in order to keep them from hurting others and bringing disaster upon themselves ... therapists who do psychotherapy effectively do so because they understand value conflicts and they convey, without having to preach about it, values that work."<ref name="pittman">Pittman, Frank. "A Buyer's Guide to Psychotherapy," Psychology Today, January 1, 1994.[http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199401/buyers-guide-psychotherapy]</ref>|[[Frank Pittman]]}}

In a 1999 address to the Coalition of Marriage, Family and Couple's Education conference in Washington, D.C., [[University of Minnesota]] Professor William Doherty<ref>[http://www.drbilldoherty.org/ William J. Doherty website]</ref> said:

<blockquote>"I take no joy in being a whistle blower, but it’s time. I am a committed marriage and family therapist, having practiced this form of therapy since 1977. I train marriage and family therapists. I believe that marriage therapy can be very helpful in the hands of therapists who are committed to the profession and the practice. But there are a lot of problems out there with the practice of therapy - a lot of problems."<ref name="hazards">Doherty, Dr. William J., "How Therapy Can Be Hazardous to Your Marital Health," Address to Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education conference, Washington, D.C., July 3, 1999.</ref></blockquote>

Doherty suggested questions prospective clients should ask a therapist before beginning treatment:<ref name="hazards" />

# "Can you describe your background and training in marital therapy?"
# "What is your attitude toward salvaging a troubled marriage versus helping couples break up?"
# "What is your approach when one partner is seriously considering ending the marriage and the other wants to save it?"
# "What percentage of your practice is marital therapy?" 
# "Of the couples you treat, what percentage would you say work out enough of their problems to stay married with a reasonable amount of satisfaction with the relationship." "What percentage break up while they are seeing you?" "What percentage do not improve?" "What do you think makes the differences in these results?"

==Licensing and degrees==

Family therapy practitioners come from a range of professional backgrounds, and some are specifically qualified or [[licensure|licensed/registered]] in family therapy (licensing is not required in some jurisdictions and requirements vary from place to place). In the [[United Kingdom]], family therapists will have a prior relevant professional training in one of the helping professions usually [[psychologist]]s, [[nurse]]s, [[psychotherapist]]s, [[social work]]ers, or [[Licensed Professional Counselor|counselors]] who have done further training in family therapy, either a [[diploma]] or an [[M.Sc.]]. In the [[United States]] there is a specific degree and license as a [[Marriage]] and Family therapist, however, [[psychologist]]s, [[nurse]]s, [[psychotherapist]]s, [[social work]]ers, or [[Licensed Professional Counselor|counselors]], and other licensed mental health professionals may practice family therapy. In the UK, family therapists who have completed a four-year qualifying programme of study (MSc) are eligible to register with the professional body the Association of Family Therapy (AFT), and with the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

A master's degree is required to work as an MFT in some American states. Most commonly, MFTs will first earn a M.S. or M.A. degree in [[marriage and family therapy]], [[psychology]], [[family studies]], or [[social work]]. After graduation, prospective MFTs work as [[interns]] under the supervision of a licensed professional and are referred to as an MFTi.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/content/therapy_credentials.html
|title=Therapy Center:Credentials
|publisher=''Psychology Today''
|author=
|date=
|accessdate=2008-08-13
}}</ref>

Prior to 1999 in [[California]], counselors who specialized in this area were called Marriage, Family and Child Counselors. Today, they are known as Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT), and work variously in private practice, in clinical settings such as hospitals, institutions, or counseling organizations.

Marriage and family therapists in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] often seek degrees from accredited Masters or Doctoral programs recognized by the [http://www.aamft.org/about/COAMFTE/AboutCOAMFTE.asp Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education](COAMFTE), a division of the [http://www.aamft.org/ American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy].  For [[accredited]] programs, click here.<ref>http://www.aamft.org/cgi-shl/twserver.exe?run:COALIST</ref>

Requirements vary, but in most states about 3000 hours of supervised work as an intern are needed to sit for a licensing exam. MFTs must be licensed by the state to practice. Only after completing their education and internship and passing the state licensing exam can a person call themselves a Marital and Family Therapist and work unsupervised.

License restrictions can vary considerably from state to state.  Contact information about licensing boards in the United States are provided by the [http://www.amftrb.org/ Association of Marital and Family Regulatory Boards].

There have been concerns raised within the profession about the fact that specialist training in ''couples therapy'' – as distinct from ''family therapy'' in general - is not required to gain a license as an MFT or membership of the main professional body, the [[American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy|AAMFT]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Doherty W |title=Bad Couples Therapy and How to Avoid It: Getting past the myth of therapist neutrality |journal=Psychotherapy Networker |volume=26 |issue=Nov–December |pages=26–33 |year=2002 |url=http://www.smartmarriages.com/badcouples.doherty.html}}</ref>

===Values and ethics===

Since issues of interpersonal conflict, power, control, values, and ethics are often more pronounced in relationship therapy than in individual therapy, there has been debate within the profession about the different values that are implicit in the various theoretical models of therapy and the role of the therapist’s own values in the therapeutic process, and how prospective clients should best go about finding a therapist whose values and objectives are most consistent with their own.<ref>Doherty, W., & Boss, P. (1991). Values and ethics in family therapy. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), [http://www.amazon.com/reader/0876306423?%5Fencoding=UTF8&ref%5F=sib%5Fdp%5Fpt#reader ''Handbook of Family Therapy. Vol. 2.'']  NY: Brunner/Mazel</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Dueck A |chapter=Metaphors, models, paradigms and stories in family therapy |editor=Vande Kemp H |title=Family therapy: Christian perspectives |publisher=Baker Book House |location=Grand Rapids, MI |year=1991 |pages=175–207 |isbn=0-8010-9313-9 |url=http://documents.fuller.edu/sop/integration/Publications/dueck_publications/dueckfam.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Wall J, Needham T, Browning DS, James S |title=The Ethics of Relationality: The Moral Views of Therapists Engaged in Marital and Family Therapy |journal=[[Family Relations (journal)|Family Relations]] |volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=139–49 |month=April |year=1999 |doi=10.2307/585077 |jstor=585077 |publisher=National Council on Family Relations}}</ref> Specific issues that have emerged have included an increasing questioning of the longstanding notion of ''therapeutic neutrality'',<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1939-0025.1964.tb02243.x |author=Grosser GH, Paul NL |title=Ethical issues in family group therapy |journal=Am J Orthopsychiatry |volume=34 |issue= 5|pages=875–84 |year=1964 |month=October |pmid=14220517 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Hare-Mustin RT |title=A feminist approach to family therapy |journal=Fam Process |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=181–94 |year=1978 |month=June |pmid=678351 |url=http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1545-5300.1978.00181.x?journalCode=famp |doi=10.1111/j.1545-5300.1978.00181.x?journalCode=famp }}</ref><ref>Gottlieb, M.C. (1995). [http://www.eric.ed.gov:80/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED393038&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED393038 Developing Your Ethical Position in Family Therapy: Special Issues.] Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association (103rd, New York, NY, August 11–15, 1995).</ref> a concern with questions of justice and self-determination,<ref>{{cite journal | author = Melito R | year = 2003 | title = Values in the role of the family therapist: Self determination and justice | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3658/is_200301/ai_n9231105/print | journal = Journal of Marital and Family Therapy | volume = 29 | issue = 1| pages = 3–11 | doi = 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2003.tb00378.x | pmid = 12616794 }}</ref> connectedness and independence,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Fowers BJ, Richardson FC |title=Individualism, Family Ideology and Family Therapy |journal=Theory & Psychology |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=121–51 |year=1996 |url=http://sptap.highwire.org/cgi/content/abstract/6/1/121 |doi=10.1177/0959354396061009}}</ref> "functioning" versus "authenticity",<ref name=nichols/> and questions about the degree of the therapist’s "pro-marriage/family" versus "pro-individual" commitment.<ref>''USA Today'' 6/21/2005 [http://www.usatoday.com/life/2005-06-21-marital-therapy_x.htm Hearts divide over marital therapy].</ref>

The [[American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy]] requires members to adhere to a "Code of Ethics," including a commitment to "continue therapeutic relationships only so long as it is reasonably clear that clients are benefiting from the relationship."<ref>"Code of Ethics," American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, July 1, 2012.[http://www.aamft.org/imis15/content/legal_ethics/code_of_ethics.aspx]</ref>

==Founders and key influences==
Some key developers of family therapy are:
{{Columns-list|2|
*[[Alfred Adler]]    ([[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]])
*[[Nathan Ackerman]] ([[psychoanalysis|psychoanalytic]])
*[[Tom Andersen]] (Reflecting practices and dialogues about dialogues)
*[[Harlene Anderson]] ([[Postmodern Collaborative Therapy]] and Collaborative Language Systems)
*[[Harry J Aponte]] ([[Person-of-the-Therapist]])
*[[Gregory Bateson]] (1904–1980) ([[cybernetics]], [[systems theory]])
*[[Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy]] ([[Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy#Contextual therapy|Contextual therapy]], intergenerational, relational ethics)
*[[Murray Bowen]] ([[Systems theory]], intergenerational)
*[[Steve de Shazer]] ([[Solution focused brief therapy|solution focused therapy]])
*[[Milton H. Erickson]] ([[hypnotherapy]], [[strategic therapy]], [[brief therapy]])
*[[Richard Fisch]] ([[brief therapy]], strategic therapy)
*[[James Framo]] ([[object relations theory]], intergenerational)
*[[Edwin Friedman]] (Family process in religious congregations)
*[[Hans-Werner Gessmann]] (Humanistic Psychodrama in family reconstruction, hypnosystemic therapy in sexual disorders)
*[[Harry Goolishian]]  (Postmodern Collaborative Therapy and Collaborative Language Systems)
*[[Sheri Meyers]] (marriage and relationship)
*[[John Gottman]] (marriage)
*[[Robert-Jay Green]] ([[LGBT]], [[cross-cultural]] issues)
*[[Jay Haley]] ([[strategic therapy]], communications)
*[[Lynn Hoffman (family therapist)|Lynn Hoffman]] ([[strategic therapy|strategic]], post-systems, collaborative)
*[[Don D. Jackson]] ([[systems theory]])
*[[Sue Johnson]] ([[Emotionally Focused Therapy|Emotionally focused therapy]], [[attachment theory]])
*[[Bradford Keeney]] ([[cybernetics]], resource focused therapy)
*[[Walter Kempler]] ([[Gestalt psychology]])
*[[Bernard Luskin]] ([[media psychology]], Public understanding of issues through media)
*Cloe Madanes (strategic therapy)
*[[Salvador Minuchin]] (structural)
*[[Braulio Montalvo]] (structural){{Citation needed|date=September 2007}}
*[[Virginia Satir]] (communications, experiential, conjoint and co-therapy)
*[[Mara Selvini Palazzoli]] (''Milan systems'')
*[[Ross Speck]] (network therapy)
*[[Robin Skynner]] ([[Group Analysis]])
*[[Paul Watzlawick]] ([[Brief therapy]], systems theory)
*[[John Weakland]] ([[Brief therapy]], strategic therapy, systems theory)
*[[Carl Whitaker (family therapist)|Carl Whitaker]] ([[Systems theory|Family systems]], experiential, co-therapy)
*[[Michael White (psychotherapist)|Michael White]] ([[narrative therapy]])
*[[Lyman Wynne]] (Schizophrenia, pseudomutuality)
}}

==Summary of theories and techniques==
(''references:''<ref>Gehart, D. R., & Tuttle, A. R. (2003). ''Theory-based treatment planning for marriage and family therapists: Integrating theory and practice.'' Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole/Thomson.</ref><ref>Goldenberg, I., & Goldenberg, H. (2008). ''Family therapy: An overview.'' Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.</ref><ref>Gurman, A. S. (2008). ''Clinical handbook of couple therapy.'' New York: Guilford Press.</ref><ref name="Sexton">Sexton, T. L., Weeks, G. R., & Robbins, M. S. (2003). ''Handbook of family therapy: The science and practice of working with families and couples.'' New York: Brunner-Routledge.</ref>)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Theoretical Model !! Theorists !! Summary !! Techniques
|-
| [[Adlerian Psychology|Adlerian Family Therapy]] || [[Alfred Adler]] || Also known as "[[Individual Psychology]]". Sees the person as a whole. Ideas include compensation for feelings of inferiority leading to striving for significance toward a fictional final goal with a private logic. [[Birth order]] and mistaken goals are explored to examine mistaken motivations of children and adults in the family constellation. || [[Psychoanalysis]], Typical Day, Reorienting, Re-educating
|-
| [[Attachment Theory]] || [[John Bowlby]], [[Mary Ainsworth]] || Individuals are shaped by their experiences with caregivers in the first three years of life. Used as a foundation for [[Object relations theory|Object Relations Theory]]. The [[Strange Situation]] experiment with infants involves a systematic process of leaving a child alone in a room in order to assess the quality of their parental bond. || [[Psychoanalysis]], [[Play Therapy]]
|-
| [[Family systems therapy|Bowenian Family Systems]] || [[Murray Bowen]], Betty Carter, Philip Guerin, Michael Kerr, Thomas Fogarty, Monica McGoldrick, [[Edwin Friedman]], Daniel Papero || Also known as "Intergenerational Family Therapy" (although there are also other schools of intergenerational family therapy). Family members are driven to achieve a balance of internal and external differentiation, causing anxiety, triangulation, and emotional cutoff. Families are affected by nuclear family emotional processes, sibling positions and multigenerational transmission patterns resulting in an undifferentiated family ego mass. || Detriangulation, Nonanxious Presence, [[Genograms]], Coaching
|-
| [[Cognitive behavioral therapy|Cognitive Behavioral Family Therapy]] || [[John Gottman]], [[Albert Ellis]], [[Albert Bandura]] || Problems are the result of [[operant conditioning]] that reinforces negative behaviors within the family’s interpersonal social exchanges that extinguish desired behavior and promote incentives toward unwanted behaviors. This can lead to irrational beliefs and a faulty family schema. || Therapeutic Contracts, Modeling, [[Systematic desensitization|Systematic Desensitization]], Shaping, Charting, Examining Irrational Beliefs
|-
| [[Collaborative therapy|Collaborative Language Systems]] || Harry Goolishian, [[Harlene Anderson]], Tom Andersen, Lynn Hoffman, Peggy Penn || Individuals form meanings about their experiences within the context of social relationship on a personal and organizational level. Collaborative therapists help families reorganize and dis-solve their perceived problems through a transparent dialogue about inner thoughts with a "not-knowing" stance intended to illicit new meaning through conversation. Collaborative therapy is an approach that avoids a particular theoretical perspective in favor of a client-centered philosophical process. || Dialogical Conversation, Not Knowing, Curiosity, Being Public, Reflecting Teams
|-
| [[Virginia Satir|Communications Approaches]] || [[Virginia Satir]], John Banmen, Jane Gerber, Maria Gomori || All people are born into a primary survival triad between themselves and their parents where they adopt survival stances to protect their self-worth from threats communicated by words and behaviors of their family members. Experiential therapists are interested in altering the overt and covert messages between family members that affect their body, mind and feelings in order to promote congruence and to validate each person’s inherent self-worth. || Equality, Modeling Communication, Family Life Chronology, Family Sculpting, Metaphors, Family Reconstruction
|-
| [[Contextual therapy|Contextual Therapy]] || [[Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy]] || Families are built upon an unconscious network of implicit loyalties between parents and children that can be damaged when these "relational ethics" of fairness, trust, entitlement, mutuality and merit are breached. || Rebalancing, Family Negotiations, Validation, <<link:2>> Debt Repayment
|-
| [[Emotion-Focused Therapy]] || [[Sue Johnson]], [[Les Greenberg]] || Couples and families can develop rigid patterns of interaction based on powerful emotional experiences that hinder emotional engagement and trust. Treatment aims to enhance empathic capabilities of family members by exploring deep-seated habits and modifying emotional cues. || Reflecting, Validation, Heightening, Reframing, Restructuring
|-
| Experiential Family Therapy || [[Carl Whitaker]], David Kieth, Laura Roberto, [[Walter Kempler]], John Warkentin, Thomas Malone, August Napier || Stemming from [[Gestalt therapy|Gestalt]] foundations, change and growth occurs through an existential encounter with a therapist who is intentionally "real" and authentic with clients without pretense, often in a playful and sometimes absurd way as a means to foster flexibility in the family and promote individuation. || Battling, Constructive Anxiety, Redefining Symptoms, Affective Confrontation, Co-Therapy, Humor
|-
| [[Feminist therapy|Feminist Family Therapy]] || [[Sandra Bem|Sandra Bern]], || Complications from social and political disparity between genders are identified as underlying causes of conflict within a family system. Therapists are encouraged to be aware of these influences in order to avoid perpetuating hidden oppression, biases and cultural stereotypes and to model an egalitarian perspective of healthy family relationships. || Demystifying, Modeling, Equality, Personal Accountability
|-
| [[Family systems therapy|Milan Systemic Family Therapy]] || Luigi Boscolo, Gianfranco Cecchin, [[Mara Selvini Palazzoli]], Giuliana Prata || A practical attempt by the "Milan Group" to establish therapeutic techniques based on [[Gregory Bateson]]’s [[cybernetics]] that disrupts unseen systemic patterns of control and games between family members by challenging erroneous family beliefs and reworking the family’s linguistic assumptions. || [[Hypothesizing]], Circular Questioning, Neutrality, Counterparadox
|-
| Medical Family Therapy<ref name="Sexton" /> || George Engel, Susan McDaniel, Jeri Hepworth & William Doherty || Families facing the challenges of major illness experience a unique set of biological, psychological and social difficulties that require a specialized skills of a therapist who understands the complexities of the medical system, as well as the full spectrum of mental health theories and techniques. || Grief Work, Family Meetings, Consultations, Collaborative Approaches
|-
| [[Mental Research Institute|MRI Brief Therapy]] || [[Gregory Bateson]], [[Milton Erickson]], [[Heinz von Foerster]] || Established by the [[Mental Research Institute]] (MRI) as a synthesis of ideas from multiple theorists in order to interrupt misguided attempts by families to create first and second order change by persisting with "more of the same," mixed signals from unclear metacommunication and paradoxical double-bind messages. || Reframing, Prescribing the Symptom, Relabeling, Restraining (Going Slow), [[Bellac Ploy]]
|-
| [[Narrative therapy|Narrative Therapy]] || [[Michael White (psychotherapist)|Michael White]], [[David Epston]] || People use stories to make sense of their experience and to establish their identity as a social and political constructs based on local knowledge. Narrative therapists avoid marginalizing their clients by positioning themselves as a co-editor of their reality with the idea that "the person is not the problem, but the problem is the problem." || [[Deconstruction]], <<link:3>> Problems, Mapping, Asking Permission
|-
| [[Object relations theory|Object Relations Therapy]] || Hazan & Shaver, David Scharff & Jill Scharff, [[James Framo]], || Individuals choose relationships that attempt to heal insecure attachments from childhood. Negative patterns established by their parents (object) are projected onto their partners. || Detriangulation, Co-Therapy, [[Psychoanalysis]], Holding Environment
|-
| [[Psychoanalytic therapy|Psychoanalytic Family Therapy]] || [[Nathan Ackerman]] || By applying the strategies of Freudian psychoanalysis to the family system therapists can gain insight into the interlocking [[Psychopathology|psychopathologies]] of the family members and seek to improve complementarity || [[Psychoanalysis]], Authenticity, Joining, Confrontation
|-
| [[Solution focused brief therapy|Solution Focused Therapy]] || [[Kim Insoo Berg]], [[Steve de Shazer]], William O'Hanlon, Michelle Weiner-Davis, [[Paul Watzlawick]] || The inevitable onset of constant change leads to negative interpretations of the past and language that shapes the meaning of an individual’s situation, diminishing their hope and causing them to overlook their own strengths and resources. || Future Focus, Beginner’s Mind, Miracle Question, Goal Setting, Scaling
|-
| [[Strategic therapy|Strategic Therapy]] || [[Jay Haley]], Cloe Madanes || Symptoms of dysfunction are purposeful in maintaining homeostasis in the family hierarchy as it transitions through various stages in the family life cycle. || Directives, Paradoxical Injunctions, Positioning, Metaphoric Tasks, Restraining (Going Slow)
|-
| [[Structural family therapy]] || [[Salvador Minuchin]], Harry Aponte, Charles Fishman, Braulio Montalvo || Family problems arise from maladaptive boundaries and subsystems that are created within the overall family system of rules and rituals that governs their interactions. || Joining, Family Mapping, Hypothesizing, Reenactments, Reframing, Unbalancing
|}

== Academic resources ==
* ''[http://www.anzjft.com/pages/index.php Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy]''
* ''[[Contemporary Family Therapy]]''
* ''[http://www.aft.org.uk/publications/context.asp Context Magazine]'', AFT, UK
* ''[http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/fammats.html/ Family Matters]'', Australian Institute of Family Studies
* ''[[Family Process (journal)|Family Process]]''
* ''[[Family Relations (journal)|Family Relations]]''
* ''[http://www.uel-ftsrc.org/  Family Therapy and Systemic Research Centre]''
* ''[http://www.springer.com/psychology/child+%26+school+psychology/journal/10826 Journal of Child and Family Studies]', ISSN: 1062-1024 (Print) 1573-2843 (Online), Springer
* ''[http://soci.ucalgary.ca/jcfs/ Journal of Comparative Family Studies]'', ASIN: B00007M2W5, Univ of Calgary/Dept Sociology
* ''[http://www.apa.org/journals/fam/ Journal of Family Psychology]''
* ''[http://jfs.e-contentmanagement.com/ Journal of Family Studies]'', ISSN: 1322-9400, eContent Management Pty Ltd
* ''[http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0163-4445 Journal of Family Therapy''], AFT (Association for Family Therapy & Systemic Practice in the UK)
* ''[http://www.jmft.net/Authors/JournalDescription.asp/ Journal of Marital and Family Therapy]''
* ''[http://www.karnacbooks.com/SeriesDetail.asp?SID=13 Karnac Systemic Thinking and Practice Series'']

==Professional organizations==
* [[American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy]]
* [http://www.afta.org/ American Family Therapy Academy]
* [http://www.aft.org.uk/ Association of Family Therapy (UK)]
* [http://www.europeanfamilytherapy.eu/ European Family Therapy Association (EFTA)]
* [[International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors]]
* [http://www.ncfr.org/ National Council on Family Relations]
* [http://www.ackerman.org/ The Ackerman Institute for the Family]

==See also==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* [[Alternative dispute resolution]]
*[[CAMFT]]
*[[Child abuse]]
*[[Conflict resolution]]
*[[Deinstitutionalisation]]
*[[Domestic violence]]
*[[Dysfunctional family]]
*[[Emotionally focused therapy]]
*[[Family Environment Scale]]
*[[Family Life Education]]
*[[Family Life Space]]
{{col-break}}
*[[Internal Family Systems Model]]
*[[Interpersonal psychotherapy]]
*[[Interpersonal relationship]]
*[[Mediation]]
*[[Multisystemic therapy|Multisystemic Therapy (MST)]]
*[[Positive psychology]]
*[[Relationships Australia]]
*[[Relationship education]]
* [[Strategic Family Therapy]]
{{col-end}}

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
Included in this list are the main professional associations in the [[United States|US]] and internationally; they reflect to some degree the different theoretical, ideological, and cross-cultural views of ''family therapy'' theory and practice.
*[http://www.ackerman.org/ Ackerman Institute for the Family]: main training, research, and clinical institute in [[United States|US]]
*[http://www.aamft.org/ American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy]: main professional association in [[United States|US]]
*[http://www.afta.org American Family Therapy Academy]: main research-oriented professional association in [[United States|US]]
*[http://www.aft.org.uk/ Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice in the UK]
*[http://www.harlequinfamilytherapy.co.uk/ Harlequin Family Therapy] - Private practice based in the UK
*[http://www.anzjft.com/ Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy]: the de facto professional association for [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand|NZ]]
*[http://www.thebowencenter.org/pages/theory.html Bowen Theory] from the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family.
*[http://www.camft.org California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists]
*[http://www.efta-europeanfamilytherapy.com/ European Family Therapy Association]
*[http://www.ifta-familytherapy.org/home.html International Family Therapy Association]
*[http://www.abacon.com/famtherapy/index.html Historical overview of the field; Therapist profiles; Timeline] from Allyn and Bacon/Longman publishing.
*[http://www.familysupport.org.uk Family Support Partnership - An Overview of Family Therapy and Mediation]
*[http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/ Dulwich Centre: Gateway to Narrative Therapy & Community Work]
*[http://childdevelopment.forumotion.com]
*[http://www.mindfortherapy.com/index.html "Mind For Therapy"] group devoted to creative origins of Family Therapy
*[http://www.davidbork.com/articles/JoePaulsGlossary.pdf Glossary of Family Systems and intergenerational concepts]
*[http://www.ndnu.edu/academics/schools-programs/school-sciences/clinical-psychology.aspx MFT at Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont CA]
*[http://www.socialconstructiontherapies.yolasite.com Social Construction Therapies Network]

{{Psychology}}
{{Psychotherapy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Family Therapy}}
[[Category:Mental health professionals]]
[[Category:Family therapy| ]]
[[Category:Clinical psychology]]
[[Category:Counseling]]
[[Category:Family]]
[[Category:Parenting]]
[[Category:Psychotherapy]]
[[Category:Relationship counseling]]
[[Category:Systems psychology]]

[[ar:علاج التنظيم العائلي]]
[[de:Systemische Therapie]]
[[fa:خانواده درمانی]]
[[nl:Systeemtherapie]]
[[sr:Породична терапија]]

Edit summary:
This is a minor edit Watch this page

Cancel

Dab solver - Family therapy

Tools

Interaction