BASIC FAMILY THERAPY SKILLS,II: STRUCTURAL FAMILY THERAPY1

The Basic Family Therapy Skills Project has yielded empirically derived skills important for beginning family therapists. This article reports the results of ratings from the 103-member panel of experts who practice and teach Structural Family Therapy. A total of 100 competencies of Structural Family Therapy were rated in terms of importance on a 5-point Likert scale by the panel. Panelists were also given alternative responses such as “appropriate as a generic skill,”“inappropriate for beginning therapists,” and “don't understand what this means.” Rationale for the approach and results are discussed in terms of the importance of empirically based competencies for the practice of Structural Family Therapy.     

Some Central Ideas in the “Just Therapy” Approach

This paper comprises significant extracts from a plenary address on Family Therapy and Social Justice given at the Second Australia and New Zealand Family Therapy Conference, Melbourne, July 1992. It contains the language of the three cultures at the Family Centre, Maori, Samoan and English. The two writers give their perspectives, those of Samoan womanhood and Pakeha (white) manhood, as they address the development of “Just Therapy”. The paper is an unusually subjective account of historical vignettes that proved to be crucial to the original developments of therapy at the Family Centre. Through speech making, poetry, prose and song, the paper outlines the critical cultural, gender and socio-economic contexts central to the “Just Therapy” approach. “Belonging”, “sacredness” and “liberation” have become the essential themes in this unique approach to an anti-colonial, anti-sexist and anti-class therapy. To put it more positively, this paper outlines a history of struggle with issues of equity that have consistently attempted to create a therapy inclusive of women's experience, dominated cultures and low-income families marginalised in the market.     

Revisiting Family of Origin in the Training of Family Therapists

Family of Origin exploration has had a controversial history in family therapy training. This article describes a process that aims to integrate family of origin work with skills development Co‐developed by a training group and their trainer, it builds on the existing approach at the Bouverie Centre in Melbourne. Family of origin work is clearly and practically linked with the enhancement of clinical skills, as argued for in the literature. Informed consent trust and safety are taken seriously, and negotiated within the training group. Trainee and trainer stories are included and the authors discuss the learning that resulted from asking trainees to present their family of origin to the group, including the unpredictable personal ramifications that inevitably occur in such processes.     

Clients' Perceptions of Single Session Consultations as an Option to Waiting for Family Therapy

A single-session program was mailed at Bouverie Family Therapy Centre (BFTC), Melbourne, and results indicated a high level of client satisfaction with the service. Within the review period 53% of clients chose to attend for a one off consultation only, with the option of an ‘open door’ to return far therapy if they felt the need. The BFTC outcome supported findings of Moshe Talmon (an international advocate of the effectiveness of single session therapy), and also of two other Australian agencies whose research was reviewed and compared with the BFTC results.     

Zig Zagging All Over Again: An Interview with Moshe Lang

Moshe Lang was one of the pioneers of family therapy in Australia. Before establishing Williams Road Family Therapy Centre — which offers a range of therapeutic, teaching and consulting services — he worked for many years at Bouverie Clinic. Moshe has been President of the Victorian Association of Family Therapists, a founder of our national conferences (he also gave the very first Opening Address) and a founder of this journal, later becoming Foundation Chairperson of the Editorial Board. He has taught in most centres in Australia and New Zealand and has published several papers characterised by thoughtfulness, humour and lucid, direct expression. For many years he has espoused the value of story telling as a medium for learning, and the importance of exposing one's work for critical appraisal. These concerns are reflected directly in two sections of this journal — Story Comer and Audio-Video Review. More recently he has co-authored with his wife Tesse a book of stories about his experiences as a therapist, entitled Corrupting The Young and Other Stories of a Family Therapist.     

AAMFT Master Series tapes: an analysis of the inclusion of feminist principles into family therapy practice

Content analysis of 23 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Master Series tapes was used to determine how well feminist behaviors have been incorporated into "ideal" family therapy practice. Feminist behaviors were infrequent, being evident in fewer than 3% of time blocks in event sampling and 10 of 39 feminist behaviors of the Feminist Family Therapist Behavior Checklist. These eminent therapists most often dealt with empowerment of male clients and management of power differentials in the therapeutic relationship in a relatively feminist manner, but they tended to hold women responsible for family issues, endorsed traditional rather than egalitarian relationships, and overlooked how the social context affects families. Several of the therapists were blatantly sexist in their treatment of female clients, communicating disrespect of and pathologizing them. The few tapes portraying effective incorporation of feminist principles in family therapy indicate that a handful of behaviors are key to this approach.     

Journal abstracts

Abstract

Clinical social work journal, spring 1983, vol.22, no.1

Seari, Carolyn “On the place of reality in social work and psychoanalytic theory” (Abstracted by Frances Chase)

Clinical Social Work Journal Spring 1983, Vol.11, No.1

Weber, Susan B. “On women in therapy and women as therapists” (Abstracted by Frances Chase)

Clinical Social Work Journal, Spring 1983, Vol.11, No.1

Poncelet, Noelle M. “A family systems view of emotional disturbance during pregnancy” (Abstracted by Frances Chase)

Clinical Social Work Journal, Summer 1983, Vol.11, No.2

Smaldino, Angelo From action to reflection: new depths in psychotherapy with drug addicts (Abstracted by Frances Chase)

Changes, 1984, Vol.2, No.3, pp.76–79

Langley, Dorothy Metaphor in the search for self (Abstracted by Jill Hopkins)

Family Process, 1983, Vol.22, No.4

Cooklin, A., Miller, A.C., McHugh, B. “An institution for change: developing of a Family Day Unit.” (Abstracted by Robin Piper)

Family Process, 1983, Vol.22, No.4

Sluzki, C.E. “Process, structure and world views - toward an integrated view of systemic models in family therapy”. (Abstracted by Robin Piper)

International Child Welfare Review, December 1983, No.59

Fuente, Amando Vega “The maladjusted child is powerless in the face of drugs” A survey carried out in a juvenile remand centre and reformatory in Spain, amongst 50 children (Abstracted by Veronica Piercy)

International Child Welfare Review, June 1984, No.61

Traber, J. “A special being, doing a special job in a special place - a fresh look at the institutional talcing into care of children and adolescents” (Abstracted by Veronica Piercy)

Journal of Family Therapy, 1984, Vol.6, No.2

Lau, Annie “Transcultural issues in family therapy” (Abstracted by Leonard Davis)

Journal of Family Therapy, 1984, Vol.6, No.2

O'Hagan, Kieran “Family crisis intervention in social services” (Abstracted by Leonard Davis)

Journal of Family Therapy, 1984, Vol.6, No.1

Campion, Jean Psychological services for children: using family therapy in the setting of the school psychological service (Abstracted by Leonard Davis)

Social Casework, November 1983, 64, pp.561–5

Rosenfeld, J. M. and Krim, A. “Adversity as opportunity: urban families who did well after a fire” (Abstracted by Jona Rosenfeld)

International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, 1983 Vol.4, No.3

Munich, R.L. “Suicide on an inpatient unit: a sociotherapeutic view” (Abstracted by Leonard Davis)

International Journal of Therapeutic Communities 1983, Vol.4, No.4

De Leon, G. “The next therapeutic community: autocracy, and other notes toward integrating old and new therapeutic communities” (Abstracted by Leonard Davis)

International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, 1984, No.l, Vol.4, pp.25–37

Bell, M. D. and Ryan, E. R. “The therapeutic community meeting: theory and technique” (Abstracted by Leonard Davis)

International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, 1984, Vol.4, No.l, pp.6–24

Lees, J. D. and Manning, N. “Problems in the psychology of personality and environment, and some Marxist solutions” (Abstracted by Leonard Davis)     

Training issues for supervisors of marriage and family therapists working with persons living with HIV

The purpose of this article is to address the special issues and considerations Martial and Family Therapy (MFT) supervisors might face with the increasing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Three primary issues will be addressed in this article. First, the importance of educating therapists regarding various aspects of the disease process and its transmission will be discussed, followed by educational strategies programs might adopt. Second, we will discuss the ethical and legal considerations that may need monitoring by supervisors and trainees. Third, special therapeutic considerations will be provided to supervisors of therapists working with stigmatized populations.     

Reflections of Two Trainees: Person-of-the-Therapist Training for Marriage and Family Therapists

In this article we share our personal and professional experiences, struggles, and growth, as former trainees of the Person-of-the-Therapist Training pilot study, conducted during our master's coursework in the Couple and Family Therapy Department at Drexel University. We include our perceptions of the training process in vivo, the challenges and benefits of doing this work in an academic setting, case examples to convey our journey of personal discovery, and the use of what we learned about ourselves in our development as therapists. This development includes a deepening of awareness of self in our relationship and work with our clients, a greater ability to work with both our personal assets and vulnerabilities, as well as the acquisition of skills to actively and purposefully use our entire person diagnostically and therapeutically in our work with clients.     

Therapeutic Alliance and Retention in Brief Strategic Family Therapy: A Mixed‐Methods Study

We explored how the therapeutic alliance contributed to retention in Brief Strategic Family Therapy by analyzing videotapes of eight‐first sessions in which four therapists worked with one family that stayed in treatment and one family that dropped out. Although behavioral exchange patterns between clients and therapists did not differ by retention status, positive therapist alliance‐related behavior followed negative client alliance behavior somewhat more frequently in the retained cases. In the qualitative aspect of the study, four family therapy experts each viewed two randomly assigned sessions and commented on their quality without knowing the families’ retention status. A qualitative analysis of the audiotaped commentaries revealed 18 alliance‐related themes that were more characteristic of either the retained or the nonretained cases.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: “ THE FAMILY IN AUSTRALIA : Social, Demographic and Psychological Aspects”, Jerzy Krupinski and Alan Stoller (Eds.); “ PSYCHOSOMATIC FAMILIES — ANOREXIA NERVOSA IN CONTEXT ” by Salvador Minuchin, Bernice L. Rosman, Lester Baker. “ PARADOX AND COUNTERPARADOX : A New Model in the Therapy of the Family in Schizophrenic Transaction” by Mara Selvini Palazzoli, Gianfranco Cecchin, Giuiana Prata, Luigi Boscolo and Jason Aronson “ THE FAMILY CRUCIBLE ” The Intense Experience of Family Therapy by Augustus Napier and Carl Whitaker.     

Do videotapes improve knowledge and attitudes about AIDS?

Three popular videotapes were assessed for their effectiveness in improving knowledge and attitudes about acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). One hundred forty-four university students completed knowledge and attitude questionnaires and then watched either an AIDS or a control tape. Half the students completed posttest questionnaires immediately after seeing the tape, and half were tested 1 month later. Students who viewed an AIDS tape showed increased knowledge at immediate and 1-month posttesting (p less than .01); the amount of increase declined over the month, however (p = .012). Students who saw two of the AIDS tapes showed an increase in compassion toward people with AIDS when tested immediately after the tape (p less than .01); but 1 month later, only those students who had viewed a third AIDS tape showed an increase in compassion (p less than .01). The AIDS tapes failed to bring about improvements in attitudes toward preventive behavior. The authors concluded that tapes about AIDS can lead to modest changes in knowledge and perhaps in attitudes; more significant changes, however, probably depend on multimedia interventions that include guided discussions as well as audiovisual and other components.     

Every Dot has a Meaning

Family therapy in Australia has recently begun a conversation with the indigenous people of this country. Part of this dialogue has involved family therapists listening to the stories of violence and oppression perpetrated against the Aboriginal people under the name of “protection”. This article is part of the ongoing exchange between family therapists and Kooris documenting the suffering of “the stolen generation”. Here two young people removed from their families as small children and raised in the same Aboriginal children's home, speak personally through their art, of an agonising search for family and cultural identity.     

Family Therapy … What's in a Name?*

The 2nd Australian and New Zealand Family Therapy Conference, held in Melbourne in July 1992, invited those making presentations to address the Conference theme Family Therapy … what's in a name? In a closing address to a plenary session of the Conference, I used the metaphor of first names (family) and surnames (therapy) to suggest that names are central to issues of identity. Our first name of “family” differentiates us within the larger group who share the surname “therapy”; but what does it mean to belong to the larger group sharing the name “therapy”? Historically, much of family therapy's energy has gone into issues concerned with establishing difference — difference within family therapy in terms of models and approaches, and difference from other approaches to therapy. Yet now perhaps family therapy would benefit from exploring what it shares in common with others who hold the same surname of “therapy”, with the possibility such dialogue could lead to mutual enrichment.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Allen, G., & Martin, C. G. Intimacy: Sensitivity, sex and the art of love .
Hoffman, L. W., & Nye, F. I. Working Mothers .
Peck, Bruce B. A Family Therapy Notebook .
Ravich, Robert A., & Wyden, Barbara. Predictable pairing .
Smith, Robert L., & Alexander, Ann M. Counseling Couples In Groups .
Sugar, Max, (Ed.). The Adolescent In Group and Family Therapy .     

Adelaide Conversations: echoes that resound

Family therapy and Social Justice are vast words that condense (and obscure) many ideas, theories and practices. Family therapy in this country has been shaped by larger Australian conversations and movements around Social Justice, but the relations between Family Therapy and Social Justice are not simple. Looking back over ten years since our last Conference in Adelaide, I recall some personal and political experiences connecting Family Therapy and Social Justice, and go on to argue how newer post-modernist and feminist currents might enrich the links, and “keep the conversation going”.     

Basic family therapy skills, I: conceptualization and initial findings

This is the first report on a program of research designed to identify the most important characteristics of the beginning marriage and family therapist. The paper first surveys the literature in family therapy, social work, and psychology and finds that, although these factors are discussed for beginning psychotherapists, no set of skills are derived empirically. This study recruited all available members of the American Family Therapy Association (AFTA) and Approved Supervisors of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) who were experienced educators and trainers of family therapists. After nominating the most important generic-type characteristics for beginning family therapists, the participants rated the items, yielding a list of not only the most important skills, but also personal traits of beginners based on mean scores of the ratings. The final section of the paper discusses the implications of these findings and notes the current and future activities of the research program.     

An Interview with Maurizio Andolfi

This interview was completed in Rome, Italy, on June 12, 1986. Maurizio Andolfi has evolved into one of the most creative family therapists regarding the use of self and metaphorical objects in the therapy process. For readers familiar with his interview in the American Journal of Family Therapy, 1981, (9)2, and his book, Family Therapy: Interactional Family Therapy, (1979), New York: Plenum, and Behind the Family Mask, (1983), New York: Brunner/Mazel, this interview reflects some of these changes and should provide interesting reading.