ARE GOALS AND TOPICS INFLUENCED BY GENDER AND MODALITY IN THE INITIAL MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY SESSION?

Establishment of a goal is crucial to therapy, but identification of therapeutic goals may be difficult in conjoint therapy because each participant may identify a different problem. We examined the influence of gender on ability to successfully introduce therapeutic topics in marital and family therapy by conducting two studies. The first study evaluates the ability of therapists to identify therapeutic goals that matched goals prioritized by both women and men clients on pretherapy questionnaires. The second study examines the process of initial therapy sessions to see whether gender influences a client's ability to introduce a therapeutic topic. Results suggest that therapeutic topic is influenced by the interaction of gender and treatment modality. Specifically, therapists were better able to match women's pretherapy stated goals in marital therapy than family therapy, men were more successful at introducing topics in family therapy, and women were more successful at introducing topics in marital therapy.     

Drawing on revisionist economics to explain the inspirational dimension of leadership

Hermalin’s (1998) model of leadership by example makes leadership amenable to conventional economic analysis by excluding the possibility that leader rhetoric can have an inspirational effect that induces followers to increase the effort they exert in team situations. This effect is also ignored by Casson (1991) who demonstrates that leader rhetoric can reduce opportunism through the moral manipulation of shame and guilt. The general propositions that Elster (1998) advanced with regard to the relationship between the emotions and decision making are applied in a theory which explains the inspirational dimension of leadership in terms of the way leaders rhetoric strengthens the hopes and counters the disappointments of followers.     

Consumer activism in the Czech Republic: the role of exit and voice in a changing economy

The question “Are consumers actively pursuing their market responsibilities in transforming economies?” is at the center of this article. It reports on a study of Czech consumers using Hirschman's “exit/voice” theory. The research focuses on what actions consumers, who had never experienced the freedom to express complaints, would take when confronted with market disappointments and failures. Analysis of a randomized cross section of consumers indicates that they acknowledge their responsibility to the market by going beyond the choice stage of consumption and actively giving voice to their concerns to retailers and manufacturers. This evidence represents the first milestone describing consumer voice behavior in a transforming economy.     

The Therapeutic Pyramid: A Common Factors Synthesis of Techniques,Alliance, and Way of Being

Common factors in therapy such as the therapeutic alliance and client motivation have been found to account for more change than therapy models. But common factors have been critiqued as only lists of variables that provide little practical guidance. Some researchers have demonstrated that certain common elements (e.g., the therapeutic alliance) account for more variance than others (e.g., techniques), suggesting that some factors should be emphasized over others. Such findings suggest the need for alternatives to model‐based therapy, with one alternative being meta‐models, or “models of models,” that focus on how therapeutic factors interact with each other to produce change. The purpose of this article is to propose a meta‐model describing the relationship between two specific common factors—the therapeutic alliance and interventions. We also propose a new factor—a therapist's way of being—that we believe is foundational to effective therapy. The model is proposed in pyramid format, with techniques on top, the therapeutic alliance in the middle, and therapist way of being as the foundation. The hierarchical relationships between these three concepts are discussed, along with implications for training, research, and therapy.     

Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples and Attachment Theory

Emotionally focused therapy for couples (EFTC) is an important framework for couples therapy. It provides an integrative model, drawing upon experiential, systems and attachment theory to understand the dynamics of the couple relationship and to describe the therapeutic process. The aim of this paper is to ask how EFTC uses attachment theory, and whether it draws as fully as it can upon the richness of that theory to inform the process of therapy. This is set in the context of the evolving importance of attachment theory for therapeutic work.     

Caring for the caregivers

National Family Caregivers month is a reminder of the invaluable contributions of family caregivers--contributions that are too often unrecognized when addressing the costs of health care. Unpaid caregivers spend a substantial percentage of each week "helping out," often with older relatives, which requires major changes in their work patterns. It is clear that these caregivers may need help balancing their work and caregiving responsibilities, and it is tempting to want to help them by "taking over" some of the seemingly overwhelming tasks they face daily. Yet, it is also important to recognize the ways in which these tasks may enrich caregivers' own quality of life. Through listening to caregivers, nurses and other health care professionals can better understand the embedded values, goals, joys, and disappointments that connect their lives with those for whom they care.     

Family Constellation — A Therapy Beyond Words

Family Constellation, a psychotherapeutic approach associated with the name Bert Hellinger, has become a popular yet also controversial form of systemic therapy in the German‐speaking therapy community. ‘Family Constellation’ (Familienstellen) means the individual client's physical‐emotional positioning and re‐positioning of substitute family members in relation to each other, with help of a therapeutic group. Family Constellation is a one‐session approach that addresses family‐of‐origin issues. The therapeutic process is highly experiential, utilising multiple sensory modalities. Hellinger locates his model within phenomenology, and his practice has roots in several therapy schools. His model offers complementary therapeutic techniques in our ‘languaged’ world of family therapy.     

Way of being and the therapeutic pyramid: Expanding the application of a common factors meta‐model

Common factors proponents have suggested the need for principle‐based meta‐models to explain how various factors interact with each other to produce change. The therapeutic pyramid is a common factors meta‐model that outlines how therapeutic skills and techniques, the therapeutic alliance, and a therapist's way of being interactive to produce therapeutic change. Skills and techniques occupy the smallest top portion of the pyramid, with the therapeutic alliance in the middle and a therapist's way of being forming the foundation of the pyramid. The success of any layer rests on the quality of the immediately underlying layer. This study illustrates the broad applicability of common factors meta‐models by applying the therapeutic pyramid to couples therapy, family therapy, training and supervision, and professional ethics.     

Architecture: A Template For Generating Design And Construction Possibilities For Therapy

The architectural processes of design and construction can be adapted to the design and construct of human solutions. Architecture provides a generative metaphor for therapy as well as a coherent and comprehensive conceptualisation for developing an integrated therapeutic eclecticism. The notion of ‘therapy as architecture’ is general enough to encompass all models of therapy. However, the paper confines its application of the architectural metaphor to the field of family therapy, and in particular to the briefer approaches to family therapy. Also, the paper demonstrates the utility of this architectural template for providing specific guidance on how to design and construct a therapeutic form in keeping with the client's brief and context. A case vignette illustrates how an architectural therapy works.     

The Experiences of Parents of Adolescents in Family Therapy: A Qualitative Investigation

While understanding clients’ experiences in family therapy is becoming increasingly important, we know very little about how the parents of adolescents in family therapy perceive and experience this process. The current study uses a multicase qualitative design and constructivist theoretical framework to describe the experiences of 15 parents of adolescents attending family therapy in private practices. Constant comparative analysis revealed four core categories that described parents’ therapeutic experiences: (a) pretherapy presentation, (b) supportive therapeutic climate, (c) family therapy process, and (d) reflections on the therapy experience. The implications of study findings for clinicians and researchers are presented and discussed.     

Evaluating economic theories of NPOs: A survey, a case study and some new directions for socio-economics

The contribution economists have made to the multidisciplinary field of non-profit studies is remarkable when one considers that non-profit organizations (NPOs) have traditionally been regarded as “non-economic” institutions that lie outside the scope of economic analysis. However, despite its achievements there has been concern about the emergence of “theoretical inertia” in the economics of NPOs. This paper suggests some ways in which the revisionist approach reflected in economic theories of the supply-side of the voluntary sector could be augmented. In particular it focuses on the emotional basis for stakeholder commitments and the consequent dependence NPOs have on their organizational leadership to foster the development of shared hopes that can sustain these commitments in the face of disappointments. These ideas are discussed in relation to the provision by NPOs of supported employment services to the disabled.     

Exploring the Therapeutic Relationship A Case Study

This paper is focused on the topic of the therapeutic relationship in systemic therapy. It is structured around the discussion of my experience of work with a particular family where the engagement issues were complex, and where there was the potential for a negative therapy sequence. The psychoanalytic concepts of transference, countertransference and projective identification are chosen to discuss my dilemmas — however, the differences between the analytic and systemic contexts of work are noted. Through the discussion of this case study, the potential benefits of using these analytic ideas to understand the therapeutic relationship in specific situations in systemic therapy are identified.     

A Dialogical Model for Engaging Spirituality in Therapy

This article addresses the issue of engaging client diversity in therapeutic practice by elaborating a dialogical model of engagement that is sensitive to and inclusive of the spiritual dimension in the therapeutic encounter. Drawing on Martin Buber’s writings on the ‘I–Thou’ relationship, the concept of intersubjectivity, research on spirituality in therapy, and the authors’ clinical experiences of collaboratively engaging the spiritual dimension in therapy, strategies of engagement are critically examined. Treatment benefits of practices that facilitate the inclusion of client spiritual values and beliefs in the therapeutic conversation are explored and potential therapeutic pitfalls are identified.     

What clients of couple therapy model developers and their former students say about change, part II: model-independent common factors and an integrative framework

Proponents of the common factors movement in marriage and family therapy (MFT) suggest that, rather than specific models of therapy, elements common across models of therapy and common to the process of therapy itself are responsible for therapeutic change. This article-the second of two companion articles-reports on a study designed to further investigate common factors in couple therapy. We used grounded theory techniques to analyze data from interviews with MFT model developers Dr. Susan M. Johnson, Dr. Frank M. Dattilio, Dr. Richard C. Schwartz, former students of Dr. Johnson and Dr. Schwartz, and each of their clients who had been successful in couple therapy. This article reports model-independent variables, that is, general aspects of therapy that are not directly related to the therapist's model. Model-independent categories include client variables, therapist variables, the therapeutic alliance, therapeutic process, and expectancy and motivational factors, each with several subcategories. We also present a conceptual framework that outlines how model-dependent and model-independent common factors may interact to produce change. We discuss our findings and proposed framework in relation to the current common factors literature in psychology and MFT. We also discuss clinical, training, and research implications.     

HAVING A SECOND-ORDER MIND WHILE DOING FIRST-ORDER THERAPY

An overemphasis in the literature on distinguishing the first- and second-order therapeutic perspectives has produced a schism within the field of family therapy. This article attempts to bridge that schism. The view of language that informs dialectical psychology is used to construct a both-and framing of the first-and second-order perspectives, a framing which renders intelligible how it is that one can have a second-order mind while doing first-order therapy. A case example is used to illustrate what such a therapeutic posture might look like in practice.     

土耳其和上海合作组织的关系研究

土耳其积极推行多纬度的外交政策,拓展战略纵深,努力成为一个中心国家;对欧盟的失望推动土耳其寻求加入上海合作组织。2013年1月和11月时任土耳其总理埃尔多安公开表达了希望上合组织接收土耳其为成员国的愿望;上合组织的影响力和吸引力增强;土耳其国内外舆论中有反对土耳其加入上合组织的声音,土耳其和上合组织成员国在一些问题上有分歧;土耳其和上合组织关系的发展将促进有关国家和地区的发展和安全。2014年9月,上合组织杜尚别峰会批准两份关于扩员的法律文件,强调开放包容的方针。土耳其和上合组织关系的发展迎来新的机遇。     

The Use of E‐mail in the Therapy Process

The therapeutic letter has a long history, with roots in psychoanalytic work and continuing application in family therapy. The advent of e‐mail has allowed another form for therapeutic written communication which, while incorporating the benefits of therapeutic letters, adds to these. It has also opened up some potential risks. This article incorporates a brief review of the literature covering therapeutic written communication and offers a case example where e‐mail was used as an adjunct in face‐to‐face therapy with a client who experienced attachment difficulties. This therapy was informed by systemic and psychoanalytic traditions. The authors explore a variety of technical matters including the timing and crafting of e‐mail responses, the integration of written communication with face‐to‐face therapy, impact on the therapeutic relationship and management of crisis. Ethical issues such as confidentiality and duty of care are also considered.     

Family therapy as a dialogue of living persons: a perspective inspired by Bakhtin, Voloshinov, and Shotter

There are not a lot of conceptual tools that can help a family therapy teacher to talk and teach about the importance of the therapeutic relationship in family therapy practice. The idea that family therapy can be conceived as a dialogue might offer a fresh and promising perspective. Mainly inspired by the work of Bakhtin, Voloshinov, and Shotter, the author considers if the concept of dialogue can help us to talk about something that is there all the time in our family therapeutic practices, although sometimes unnoticed, and that is hard to talk about because we lack the necessary conceptual tools. When we choose to conceptualize family therapy as dialogue, the focus of the therapist is not primarily on data collection, information processing or problem analysis. The therapist is not primarily concerned with knowing, or with not-knowing. Instead, the focus is on the idea that first and foremost therapy is a meeting of living persons, searching to find ways to share life together for a while. Clinical vignettes that feature children's drawings in family therapy are used as illustrations.