THE FAMILY CRISIS INTERVENTION LITERATURE: WHAT IS MEANT BY “FAMILY”?*

Family crisis intervention is a rapidly growing area of clinical care in family therapy which lacks clear conceptualization, especially with respect to how “family” fits into crisis intervention theory. This paper integrates recent concepts from the family therapy literature into three views: family as background, family as context, and family as a unit. The family crisis intervention literature (56 publications) is reviewed and categorized according to these three views. Clarity in how “family” is viewed and consistency between theory and practice are examined. Recommendations for improving the conceptualization of “family” in family crisis intervention theory and practice are made.     

Reply to Klein

Many “theoretical” writings in sociology and in the social sciences use conceptual frameworks (perspectives, paradigms). Developments in family sociology are used as a case study to explore the role of conceptual frameworks in the growth of scientific theory. The claim that conceptual frameworks are necessary for theory building is evaluated. Using writings in family sociology and in the philosophy of science, the claim is found wanting. Social scientists are therefore cautioned to avoid conceptual work that is only rhetorically related to the development of theory.     

On theorizing the complexity of economic systems

Complexity challenges the “normal sciences” because they are based on logical neopositivist epistemologies and, therefore, have difficulty dealing with intelligible yet unpredictable phenomena. This problem is of particular concern to neoclassical economics. Empirical research is making it increasingly clear that economic systems are basically complex systems and, as such, cannot be understood by reduction and simplification. This article discusses a theory of modeling and reasoning about complex economic systems. It first examines “constructivist epistemologies” as a possible foundation for the modeling of complex systems, then presents an embryonic theory of the modeling of complex systems, based on constructivist epistemology. Two modeling tools-of organization by information and of intelligent organizational decision-are proposed. The arguments presented here suggest that economics will have to become a new science of organizational engineering in order to utilize and contribute to the emerging new sciences of complexity.     

Bad Therapy A Training Technique

This paper describes a new training technique. The therapist, with a role-playing family, is instructed to do “bad therapy” — to make the family worse. Usually the “patients” and observers regard the “bad therapy” as beneficial — in fact, better than before. Several examples are given and a short discussion follows. “When I am good I am very very good, But when I am bad I am better”.     

UNDERSTANDING BATESON AND MATURANA: TOWARD A BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATION FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES*

The attempts to clarify (purify) the conceptual foundations of family therapy by means of “epistemology” have bred excitement, boredom, irritation and confusion. In the belief that at least the confusion can be alleviated, the present paper is offered as a study guide and something of a Rosetta Stone for translating the work of Gregory Bateson and Humberto R. Maturana. The paper demonstrates that Maturana's work is highly compatible with that of Bateson. In addition, several major points of contrast are argued: (1) Maturana's concept of structure determinism is an explicit ontological claim which directly implies an epistemology, whereas Bateson delineated an epistemology, but never clearly developed a corresponding ontology; (2) structure determinism is a more general concept than Bateson's concept of “mind” (i.e., cybernetic epistemology); (3) structure determinism deletes the remnants of objectivity from Bateson's theory (i.e., “the difference that makes a difference”); and (4) Maturana's concept of instructive interaction is a more general, nonsystemic version of what Bateson meant when he used the term “epistemological error.” Finally, it is claimed that the emphasis on epistemology has distracted proponents and detractors alike from the essential message of Bateson and Maturana: social systems and all human endeavor must be understood in light of our existence as biological entities that are coupled to a medium. The biological ontology implicit in Bateson's writings and explicitly delineated in Maturana's may (at long last) provide a sound foundation for the social and behavioral sciences.     

FAMILY THERAPY RESEARCH AND THE “NEW EPISTEMOLOGY”*

Epistemological critiques of the theory and practice of family therapy recently have also been brought to bear on mainstream strategies and methods of research in family therapy. In this paper, it is argued that standard research methods are the only ethically responsible means presently available by which we can assess the efficacy of family therapy. It is also argued that standard research models have already provided data of practical relevance to clinicians, patients and public policy makers and should not be abandoned in haste. Finally, it is argued that there are insufficient grounds for divorce between the “new epistemology” and standard research, since commonplace research designs and methods are far more compatible with systemic thinking than some observers have suggested.     

The construction of societal relationships with nature

The term biodiversity is constituted as an object of scientific investigations through complex social and, in particular, socio-economic processes. Taking all these processes together we can speak of the global regulation of biodiversity. Conversely, analysing this social construction of nature is at risk of ignoring the material properties of biodiversity. To grasp both aspects, the social construction of biodiversity as well as the elements non-identical to this social construction, the term “societal relationships with nature” from the so called “Frankfurt School of critical theory” is introduced. Starting from this approach, the perspectives of natural and social sciences are not really complementary. The thesis first involves an analysis of the different processes in which biodiversity is generated and presented as an object of social purposes and scientific investigations. Starting from the scientific problems emerging from the introduction of the new term we can come to a better understanding of how scientific research is connected with tendencies of the global society as a whole. Therefore problems of interdisciplinary research are interpreted as elements of the conflicts regarding the shaping of the societal relationships with nature in social reality.     

RESEARCH IN FAMILY THERAPY: A GRADUATE LEVEL COURSE

Training in family therapy research must move beyond traditional methods courses. This paper describes a five-unit course which (a) reviews the fundamentals of research methodology and grounds the student in the history of psychotherapy research in general; (b) gives an overview of family research through detailed analysis of major review articles; (c) covers instrumentation tools and techniques; (d) critically evaluates key investigations in the field; and (e) examines the challenges of the "new epistemologies" for family therapy research. Learning activities are described for each unit that engage the student in such a way that the learning of research might be enjoyable as well as interesting. The paper may also be employed as a guide for self-study in family therapy research.     

Emergenz und Reduktion

The micro-macro-link is a common problem in nearly every scientific field. In contemporary philosophy of mind a new concept of emergence has been developed which could also be useful for sociology. After a brief overview of the debate in the field of philosophy of mind, three different answers to the micro-macro problem are being distinguished and then transferred to sociology: an eliminative (e.g. R. Collins), a reductionist (e.g. rational choice theories) and a non-reductive answer based on the concept of emergence (e.g. Emile Durkheim, and, partly, N. Luhmann). Using the argument of “multiple realization” the article argues for a “conceptual dualism”.     

Tolstoy and The Heroes of Family Therapy

This paper presents Tolstoy's view of history in ‘War and Peace’ against the background of recent post-modern developments in philosophy and family therapy. Family therapy, like philosophy, is now caught between a modernist and a post-modernist outlook, between ‘systematising’ or traditional scientific tendencies, and ‘edifying’ or literary practices. The former is represented by the idea of the family as a system and the latter in a metaphor of therapy as conversation. It is proposed that the edifying philosopher is sounding very much like the family therapist of the 1990s. Both share a newer metaphor of keeping the conversation going, and the idea that therapy is philosophy and philosophy a therapy. The discussion is grounded in Tolstoy's understanding of heroes in history and some implications for family therapy.     

Theories of Family Treatment

“Theory” in the social sciences may be defined as “Systematically organized, lawlike propositions about society and social life leading to hypotheses that produce a high rate of positive affirmation.”¹ No such theory exists in the subject area of “family”, generally much less in “family therapy”.     

Warum die Weltgesellschaft nicht existiert. Kritische Reflexionen zu einigen empirischen und epistemologischen Problemen der Theorie der Weltgesellschaft

Use of the term “World Society” in its present connotations is becoming an accepted part of the vocabulary of globalization in academic thinking. Despite its relatively rapid rise as an analytical tool, the popularity of the term does not appear to be matched by any widespread consensus concerning its precise meaning. This paper therefore sets out to take a recapitulating look at the concept of “World Society” from both a theoretical and systematical standpoint. The aim is to offer a detailed account of the concept of World Society. Current sociological research on World Society focuses on three sets of central assumptions, which are of special relevance for its genesis: 1. Communication technologies; 2. Global diffusion of cultural/ normative patterns; 3. Functional Differentiation. This serves as the backdrop for an analysis of the epistemological limitations and modal epistemological problems of World Society Theory. Epistemic modality deals with the reality or truth-status of propositions. Due to reflections on philosophy of modality, this paper attempts to show that socio-cultural rules as such are merely “virtual”. Structures are not fixed or given. They exist only as they are instantiated in action. On this basis the paper argues that world society does not exist, because World society theory mostly overlooks implementation. It attends almost entirely to law on the books, not law in action. Synonymous with the Western metaphysical tradition world society theory presents a modern version of a Platonic theory of ideas. In a critical discussion of concepts of World Society Theory, the limits of this approach as well as noteworthy challenges for historical-sociological research on contemporary processes of globalization are identified.     

An Operational Framework for Working with Rural Families in Crisis*

This paper presents a variation of short term crisis treatment adapted to the specific needs of rural families in Northern New Hampshire. The life style and culture of the client population are seen through the eyes of a formerly “urban” therapist. The intent of the paper is to validate existing tenents of family crisis therapy with some slight modifications and emphases; suggesting that crisis intervention may well be the treatment of choice in a rural setting.     

What happened to the Washington Consensus? The evolution of international development policy

The term “Washington Consensus”, as Williamson the father of the term conceived it, in 1989, was a set of reforms for economic development that he judged “Washington” could agree were required in Latin America. However, the Washington Consensus has been identified as a neoliberal manifesto and calls were made for the implementation of a different set of policies, which took the form of the “Augmented Washington Consensus”. Lately, Williamson offered a new set of policies the “After the Washington Consensus”. The aim of this paper is to investigate the different interpretations and alternatives of this controversial set of policies, and to reveal the historical evolution of the implemented policies for international development.     

Contesting Imperial Epistemologies: Introduction

This special issue addresses the Eurocentred nature of knowledge production by examining alternative loci of knowledge production and the consequences of subverting standard narratives of particular events and conceptual paradigms through a focus on “other” places and traditions of thought, especially those formed in colonial encounters. In contesting imperial epistemologies, this special issue draws together contributors working on a variety of globally located phenomena and also seeks to re-examine how “foundational” concepts and events within social theory and historical sociology are understood differently once we start from locations and traditions other than the typically hegemonic West.     

A home from home: the organization as family

The basic unit of human organization has always been the family, although the meaning and composition of “family” has altered over the millennia of human existence. The current view in Western thought is that there is a distinct schism between the family and other social organizations, particularly those organizations associated with work. As a broad distinction, the family is held to be in the private sphere of human interaction and work organizations in the public. Much feminist theory is predicated on this private/public split, and one of the reasons proposed for the social inequality of women is that the private, which is women's “natural” domain, is held to be of lesser social significance.

The paper considers, in a light-hearted (but we hope not lightweight) manner, the metaphor of the organization as family. We provide analogies between the notions of “family” as a private social institution and the work organization, drawing no conclusions, but providing some small insights into affinities and congruences which blur the private/public distinction. If we assert anything at all, it is this: because the work organization is family, we are able to slip from one to the other each day with the minimum of psychic stress.

“Travail, Famille, patrie” (the slogan of the Vichy régime)     

Family Social Work: The Past and the Present

SUMMARY

It is easy to blame the dysfunction of a family member on his or her behavioral patterns. I use the title, “It's the Relationship, Stupid!” not to talk down to family therapists, but to remind myself that the source of dysfunction is usually family relationships, especially the marriage relationship. This article gives several case studies for practical application of therapy techniques that focus on developing the “WE” of the family unit. One practical technique that I developed is a communication typology. The married couple (and family members) are divided into “Painters” and “Pointers.” This typology explains much of the conflict and mis-communication that leads to the breakdown of the “WE.” This article also presents dysfunction within the individual as a relationship problem and introduces the concept of the “spirit” of the individual as expressing the relationship the person has with self.     

STRATEGIC THERAPY,ECLECTICISM, AND THE THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP

Although profoundly influencing the family field by highlighting the deficiencies of pathology-based views, strategic therapy has come under fire in two general areas: (a) adherence to a “black box” philosophy that discounts the value of intrapersonal phenomena; and (b) interventions that appear exceedingly instrumental, manipulative, and based on a position of therapist power. This article will examine these criticisms in light of the rise of eclecticism and the resurgence of the primacy of the therapeutic relationship. It will be argued that if strategic therapy is to remain viable, it must evolve to include the contributions of other models and consider the relationship context from which intervention arises.