The prediction of learning in family therapy training programs*

Research on family therapy training has produced very little data regarding the kinds of trainees that do best in family therapy training programs. This study attempts to provide some rough and preliminary data on that issue. One hundred and seventy trainees, drawn from seven different structural!strategic training experiences, were evaluated as to how much they learned by taking the Family Therapy Assessment Exercise pre- and posttraining. Their performance was correlated using a hierarchical regression analysis with a number of trainee variables such as amount of conjugal family experience, amount of experience doing family or individual therapy, or prior knowledge of family therapy. The results indicate that, as predicted, conjugal family experience was positively related, and prior knowledge was negatively related to performance. Prior experience doing individual therapy was also positively related to performance.     

TOWARD A THEORY OF CONSTRAINTS

Grounded in the cybernetic concept of negative explanation, the theory of constraints examines how human systems are kept from solving problems. To identify constraints, therapists must know where to look for them and what to look for. The theory proposes that constraints exist among the levels of a biopsychosocial system, which include biology, person, relationship, family, community, and society. The six metaframeworks of organization, sequences, mind, development, gender, and culture assist constraint identification. Combining the levels and metaframeworks creates a web of constraints, the complexity of which determines how difficult it will be to solve a given problem. The theory of constraint offers an integrative and pragmatic approach to therapy while simultaneously honoring the complexity of human systems.     

Intervening in Family Systems with Observer Messages*

This article presents an approach to family therapy in which a group of observers becomes part of a therapeutic team by introducing strategic messages into the sessions. The observers, who operate from behind a two-way mirror, are thus able to effect change in both the family system and the therapeutic system consisting of family and therapist. Messages are described in terms of five components: function, target, timing, content, and delivery. Some guidelines for effective team functioning are given and three examples illustrate the approach. Finally, implications for training are discussed.     

Teaching Family Therapy: A Program Based on Training Objectives

This paper presents a set of specific training objectives which constitute a base for a one-year clinical training program at the Institute for Juvenile Research in Chicago. The training objectives include three categories of skills: observational, conceptual, and therapeutic. The training objectives and the program in which they are implemented are described.