Becoming a Marriage, Family and Child Counselor: Notes from a Chicano

Becoming a licensed Marriage, Family and Child Counselor (MFCC) in California is presented from a Chicano's perspective based on the author's own training. He reports that 1) there is a need for Chicanos trained extensively in marriage and family counseling to serve the large Mexican American population; 2) MFCC is a growing profession yet few Chicanos are entering it; 3) few Chicano professionals are involved in the training, teaching and supervision of marriage and family counselors; and 4) the state licensing board and the two marriage and family counselors' associations do not identify minority counselors nor those who provide Spanish speaking services .     

Training Marriage and Family Counselors in an Industrial Setting*

The paper focuses on the interface between family life and the world of work with special reference to the field of marriage and family counseling. The empirical and theoretical rationale for incorporating marriage and family counseling services in an industrial setting are presented along with estimates of industry-wide receptivity. The final section of the paper describes a specific plan of action being implemented at Purdue University and explores some of the basic issues associated with the training program, the clientele to be served, and the delivery system to be employed within an industrial setting.     

The Place and Relevancy of Practice with Couples in Graduate Social Work Education

Social workers often provide services and therapy for couples; however, little literature has been published that suggests models for teaching—from a social work perspective—marriage counseling or social work with couples. This article reports the results of a survey that examined how faculty in graduate schools of social work are teaching practice content in marriage counseling and their perceptions of its relevancy to social work practice. Findings indicated that some content on social work practice with couples is evident in most master of social work programs. Moreover, faculty perceived social work practice with couples as moderately relevant to all practice settings listed in the survey.     

The AIAC,A Design for Systematically Analyzing Marriage and Family Counseling: A Progress Report*

The Allred Interaction Analysis for Counselors is an instrument for systematically analyzing counselors' and clients' verbal behaviors. It was constructed to provide marriage and family counselors-in-training a method for acquiring meaningful, objective feedback on their counseling behaviors. The interrater reliability coefficients have been high. Results of validity studies have been encouraging. Though the instrument was initially designed from analysis of structured family counseling, research indicates it may have rather wide application for many different counseling approaches and settings.     

Abstracts

Bernstein, B. E. Lawyer and counselor as an interdisciplinary team: one lawyer's suggestions.
Brandwein, R. A., Brown, C. A. & Fox, E. M. Women and children last: the social situation of divorced women and their families.
Cookerly, J. R. The reduction of psychopathology as measured by the MMPI clinical scales in three forms of marriage counseling.
Denfeld, D. Dropouts from swinging.
Fulton, W. C. Counseling as an insured benefit: perspectives from the insurance industry.
Hurvitz, N. The family therapist as intermediary.
Raths, O. N., Bellville, T. P., Bellville, C. J. & Garetz, F. K. The counter-phobic mechanism as a force in mate selection and marital stability.
Rolfe, D. J. The financial priorities inventory.
Solomon, M. A. Resistance in family therapy: some conceptual and technical considerations.
Sonne, J. C. On the question of compulsory marriage counseling as a part of divorce proceedings.
Strauss, M. Leveling, civility, and violence in the family.
Weiss, R. L., Birchler, G. R., & Vincent, J. P. Contractual models for negotiation training in marital dyads.     

Corporate support mechanisms for families: An exploratory study and agenda for research and evaluation

Based on telephone interviews with representatives from 16 corporations in the Baltimore-Washington area, this article explores the awareness of corporate officers of the linkages between work and family systems, their perceived responsibility for implementing policies and services that lend support to the family circumstances of employees, and the types of actions they had initiated in their corporations to help employees better balance work and family demands. Study results demonstrate limited awareness among corporate officers toward the work and family interface, employer uncertainty about corporate responsibilities for the family situation and demands of employees, and limited corporate development of family-oriented policies and services. These results are discussed in the context of recent federal initiatives to encourage greater corporate response to the family circumstances of employees. Implications are suggested for further research and evaluation.     

The impact of discernment counseling on individuals who decide to divorce: experiences of post‐divorce communication and coparenting

Discernment counseling is designed to help couples considering divorce arrive at a greater sense of clarity and confidence in their decision making about the future of their marriage. Possible outcomes include making no change to the marriage, divorcing, or attempting reconciliation through couples therapy. To date, no research has been done on whether or not discernment counseling helps couples who decide to divorce with their post‐divorce family life (i.e., coparenting). We surveyed 11 people (from male–female couples) and conducted in‐depth interviews with eight who had undergone discernment counseling and subsequently divorced to see what impact discernment counseling had on their post‐divorce coparenting relationship. We analyzed the data from a phenomenological perspective. Respondents described their discernment counseling experience as helpful for achieving clarity and honesty in the divorce decision‐making process, they shared their appreciation for the structure of the intervention, and indicated that it led to a greater coparental cooperation post‐divorce.     

Contingent Work Rising: Implications for the Timing of Marriage in Japan

Employment has become increasingly precarious in developed countries, meaning that, for many young adults, jobs provide neither benefits nor security, more work is part time, and employers are increasingly hiring workers from temporary help agencies and contract companies rather than as employees of their own company. These changes in employment relations have profound effects on gender roles and on family transitions of young adults, especially young men and in particular in countries such as Japan, where there are rigid family norms and the male‐breadwinner tradition still prevails. The authors examined the effects of the experience of non‐regular work on the timing of marriage and whether this differs by sex. Using recent life history data from Japan, they found that men working in non‐regular jobs are especially likely to postpone marriage. The implications of the growth of precarious work for changes in work and family institutions in Japan are discussed.     

Sex Role Stereotyping and Marriage Counseling*

Evidence that sex role stereotyping (SRS) reflects a strong negative valuation of women and is a factor in clinical evaluation raises the question of its affects upon evaluation and treatment in marriage counseling. The counseling literature was reviewed and although data on SRS was found, it seldom was related specifically to marriage counseling. The purpose of this paper is to consider the implications of SRS for marriage counselors in the light of current research findings on this issue. Suggestions for assisting counselors to deal with SRS in themselves and as professionals in the field of marriage counseling are presented.     

Effects of family planning and health services on women��s welfare: evidence on dowries and intra-household bargaining in Bangladesh

This paper demonstrates how the availability of family planning and maternal and child health services alters the structure of intra-household bargaining. The overall welfare gains from such programs are likely to be large, but when women obtain access to services only through marriage, some of these gains may be partially offset by changes in their bargaining power and in the dowries that they pay their husbands. I examine these marriage market effects using a family planning and health services program in rural Bangladesh, finding that compared to women without program access, women in the treatment area are 35% less likely to be able to make purchases without permission from their husbands or another household member. Moreover, a difference-in-difference specification confirms that women pay 14% higher dowries in order to obtain husbands with access to the program. The fact that adjustments are made both before and within marriage suggests that marital contracts in rural Bangladesh are negotiated along multiple margins.     

Women from the Middle East and North Africa in Europe: understanding their marriage and family dynamics

The aim of this article is to assist the understanding of social workers in Europe of marriage and family dynamics among women from Middle East and North African countries who have moved to Europe. The focus of this article is on husband selection processes and family dynamics after marriage in Egypt, which is used as a case study reflecting culture and norms surrounding marriage in this region. This article reports on the findings of doctoral studies which examined marriage patterns and family dynamics in North Africa and in particular in Egypt where more in-depth data were available. The authors reflect issues surrounding values and process of marriage not only in terms of the implications for practice with social work clients or service users, but also in relation to the potential of women from this region who may join the social care workforce.     

Saving Sinking Ships: Implications from a Theory of Marital Dissolution

Critics of marriage, family and divorce counseling have repeatedly noted that technique is infrequently, if ever, underpinned by theory. A recently developed theory of marital dissolution that utilizes a systems perspective is briefly presented. The theory was derived from almost 1,300 propositions in the extant literature, and is readily understandable to layman, practitioner, and academician. Implications contained within the theory for those concerned with saving floundering marital relationships are indicated.     

DOES ACADEMIC TRAINING BACKGROUND MAKE A DIFFERENCE AMONG PRACTICING MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS?

Using a national sample of practicing marriage and family therapists (MFTs) and their clients, this study investigated whether academic training background is associated with differences in pracice patterns and client outcomes. Clinical members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy with academic training in psychology, social work, counseling, and marriage and family therapy were compared on a wide range of clinical practice variables, and their clients were surveyed about thier satisfaction and outcomes. Results showed highly similar practice patterns and client outcomes across all four disciplinary groups. Although the findings showed little evidence for the uniqueness of academic marriage and family therapy training among experienced MFTs, they also refute the notion that therapists trained in MFT degree programs practice in unusual or inferior ways compared to MFTs trained originally in other mental health disciplines.     

SPOUSES' COGNITIVE STYLES AND MARITAL INTERACTION PATTERNS*

This study explored the relationship between spouses' cognitive styles and interaction patterns that were characteristic of their marriage. Three measures of cognitive style and one measure of relational interaction patterns were used. Participants were 60 married couples. Results indicated that spouses' reports of parallel, complementary and symmetrical interaction could each be predicted from spouses' intolerance of ambiguity. Husbands reported more parallel interaction when more similar to their wives in cognitive complexity, and more symmetrical interaction when more dissimilar. Findings suggested a dimension of flexibility-rigidity exists for cognitive style and interaction style. Additionally, interaction patterns could be predicted from marriage length and the number of individuals at home. Implications of these findings for counseling are discussed.     

A Tandem Approach: Marriage Counseling as Process in Tandem with Individual Psychotherapy

More attention must be paid to the marriage and family unit in the mental health field (Haley, 1975), however, working exclusively with that unit and ascribing the cause of behavior solely to the interpersonal system would only perpetuate another kind of one-sidedness. This paper presents a tandem approach, a form of combined treatment, that maintains a balanced perspective of the individual and marriage and family unit, provides a synthesis for intrapsychic and interpersonal theories of the causation of behavior, integrates the techniques of the modalities of individual psychotherapy and marriage counseling, and expedites the solution of underlying intrapsychic and interpersonal problems     

Perceptions and Experiences of Marriage Preparation Among U.S. Muslims: Multiple Voices from the Community

Although Muslims in the United States are a growing population, there is limited research on their relational patterns and how they prepare for marriage. We conducted in‐depth interviews with 32 members of the Muslim community in Southeast Michigan including married individuals, divorced individuals, therapists, and imams (Muslim religious leaders) to explore their perceptions and experiences of marriage preparation. Our analysis revealed that marriage preparation varies but is less likely to involve a requirement of premarital counseling, with imams being the primary providers, not therapists. Barriers to participation include stigma, lack of awareness, logistical and financial challenges, and parental influence. Partnerships between imams and therapists, and family and community efforts are necessary to address barriers and increase participation in premarital education programs.