Creating the Next Wave of Family Therapy

This article is an exploration of family therapy in Australia based on interviews with seven leading Australian family therapists: Max Cornwell, Carolyn Quadrio, Ron Perry, Laurie MacKinnon, Brian Stagoll, Banu Moloney and Jim Crawley. It explores the attributes and qualities of what makes a good family therapist and seeks to understand how the next generation of therapists can generate a new enthusiasm for family therapy.     

An International Comparative Study on Women's Pension Rights and Their Economic Risks

This article examined the theoretical meanings of pension rights and analyzed their effects on women's economic risks in developed countries. First, based on the status of a citizen, worker, parent, and spouse, this study investigated how pension benefits are guaranteed as a citizen regardless of work history, the degree to which women's disadvantageous situations in the labor market and unpaid work are compensated by public pension as workers and parents, and how marital status is treated in the different pension systems. Second, analysis of the effect of pension rights showed that individual rights is a significant factor to prevent economic risks of elderly women. Derived rights did not seem to secure the economic welfare of elderly women, at least in a comparative context. This finding suggested that developing individual rights, rather than derived rights, is the way to guarantee long‐term elderly women's economic welfare.     

Emotions in the Practice of Systemic Therapy

Emotions are connected to meaning making in human interactions. This can be seen not just in terms of the immediate participants and their developmental history but also through broader cultural, social, and gender lenses. In times of relational tension, which require system flexibility, some emotional interaction can constrain alternative actions or meanings being constructed. Therapists can hypothesize about these emotional dances (including those that are taking place in the therapist/client system) and such hypotheses can inform interventions aimed at generating different emotional sequences. If participants in therapy experience alternative emotional responses as a result of therapeutic intervention, then change can occur (e.g., a greater sense of agency or hope, or a different perception of the situation).     

Theory of mind: are there wider implications from working with d/Deaf people?

An exploratory teaching approach was inspired by the communicative experiences of d/Deaf students in tertiary education. ‘Theory of Mind’ has been used by some to describe the capacity to appreciate that views of others may be different from our own, a concept that could provide a different way for students and educators to understand the barriers identified. An adapted assessment highlighted challenges faced and a communication group provided opportunities for extending personal understandings of social settings. Emerging ideas to inform practice and potential implications for inclusion have relevance for other contexts.     

The efficacy and safety of short-acting testosterone ointment (Glowmin) for late-onset hypogonadism in accordance with testosterone circadian rhythm

Introduction: It is well known that there is a reduction of circadian rhythm in blood testosterone levels with aging. Our previous report revealed that 3?mg of short-acting testosterone ointment (Glowmin: GL) elevated serum testosterone levels to within the physiological range for 4–6?h. The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical efficacy and safety of GL used topically once every morning, to enhance the circadian rhythm of testosterone, for late-onset hypogonadism (LOH).

Methods: A total of 61 LOH patients received 3?mg of GL topically once a day in the morning on scrotal skin for 24 weeks. The clinical efficacy of GL was evaluated by the aging males symptoms (AMS) scale, and blood sampling tests were measured before and after GL treatment.

Results: Mean patients age was 55.3?±?9.2 years old. Total AMS scores at 4, 12, and 24 weeks after GL treatments significantly decreased. The results of sub-analysis of AMS, including psychological, physical, and sexual factors also significantly improved after GL treatments. No severe adverse reactions or abnormal laboratory data were reported.

Conclusions: This study shows that TRT for LOH with once daily GL treatment supports testosterone circadian rhythm and should be considered to be an effective and safe therapy for LOH.     

Insider/Outsider: A Muslim Woman's Adventure Practicing ‘Alongside’ Narrative Therapy

The following paper centres on my unique experience as a white Australian therapist who is able to sympathise with a Western world view while being immersed in an Islamic world view. The goal is to share my journey as a Muslim Australian via an auto‐ethnography reflexive method. Using diaries, intentional reflexive positioning, and multiple modes of supervision, I contemplate an Islamic identity and value system while negotiating poststructural therapies such as solution‐focused collaborative, and in particular, narrative therapy as viable approaches to working with the Muslim community. There are two inquiries which are of interest. The first is to reflexively describe the experience of being a Muslim practitioner and wondering whether core differences in epistemological views between social constructionism and Islamic doctrine can be overcome. Secondly, this enquiry explores Quranic guidelines about how to perceive ‘problems’ in life, based on the premise that understanding how an Islamic world view addresses life's troubles may add to deeper conceptions of the role of difficulties. I propose that adherent Muslims have a natural metaphorical way of thinking that connects with some of the poststructural therapeutic skills and techniques and at the same time draw on past Quranic solutions for contemporary problems. Little has been written on narrative therapy as a suitable approach to working with Muslim clients. In the current paper I review my personal experience as a veiled Muslim therapist striving to implement narrative therapy alongside an Islamic epistemology.     

Love in Times of Cholera: Systemic Reflections on Supporting Families Through the Journey(s) of Illness

This paper is the result of our increasing interest in the experience of illness in families and the concomitant reflections on how best to therapeutically support these families through this process. This interest led us to reflect on the nuanced way in which language establishes a play with the experience of illness, a play that can amplify or reduce its effects. Such an interplay in turn led us to consider the valuable role that family therapists have in helping families and treating practitioners to create a safe space for conversation about illness. Further questions are also explored in relation to whether there is a role for family therapists in facilitating the interface between our clinical practice with clients and the wider treating medical community. And, if so, what shape would such an interface take? Considerations at this level would include the anticipation of psychological reactions to diagnosis of chronic and life‐threatening illnesses, in particular the importance of ‘normalisation’ of the psychological reactions to such chronic and/or life threatening diagnoses; the complex dynamics emerging from the interface between the effects of illness in the subjectivity of the ill person and the grief experienced by the other family members; different family members’ narratives of the illness; relevant community contexts; and, lastly, ways to help the family members and/or the ill person navigate the medical system including the use of second opinions, cyberspace information, and other systems in their ecology, such as the spiritual dimension. Some aspects of children's narratives of illness are also identified. The paper has been organised around the dialogue that the authors had around one of their clinical cases.     

Separations: A Personal Account of Bowen Family Systems Theory

This paper is a personal account of my own family of origin research. It explores the impact of separations from parents, nuclear family, and extended family through a Bowen family systems theory perspective using concepts pertaining to Bowen theory such as chronic anxiety, differentiation of self, multigenerational family process, and the emotional system. An outline of the process of doing research in ‘vivo’ with my mother as well as conversations with my supervisor are included. Theoretical differences between individual and system models are discussed. A Bowen theoretical approach to the anxiety of separations is investigated. The efficacy of engaging in family of origin work and the effects of thinking systems is examined in light of how it assisted me to view family members, family system disturbances, and clients’ emotional systems more objectively.     

Mindful of the Intersession Break in Family Therapy: The Time to Think Experiment

The Time to Think Experiment researches the experience of clinicians, consumers, and families of an intersession break, which has been used historically in various models of family therapy training. This qualitative pilot study explores the experiences of 21 clinicians, 19 consumers, and six family members using this break for reflection, across the domains of family and couple therapy, individual therapy, group work, and supervision in a mental health service covering the whole age range. Using a phenomenological design, the analysis included narrative, thematic, content, and comparative techniques. The paper considers the impact of privileging reflection in the therapy process, in a climate where models, work cultures, and general lifestyles may not encourage it. Using the intersession break to create space to ‘be’ in the therapy process is one way to integrate mindful and family therapy practice. The emerging themes of an intersession break to promote a richer and deeper therapy experience, and the apparent shift of responsibility for change from clinicians to consumers is discussed.     

地区间个人收入差距的状况及特点(英文)

在地区收入差距的文献中，一直缺乏从个人收入角度出发的研究；而关于个人收入分配的研究，也很少考察地区差异。文章使用2005年全国1％人口普查数据，从个人收入角度描述了全国及（几种不同定义下的）地区间的个人收入差距，并分析了影响个人收入差距的因素，得到了一些有意义的结果。