Basic Family Therapy

by Barker, Philip

• ISBN13: 9780632042593
• ISBN10: 0632042591
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-06-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The fourth edition of this well-established textbook offers a thorough, readable, and up-to-date survey of the field of family therapy, providing coverage of all contemporary schools of thought. The book has been comprehensively revised to take account of recent advances in the field made since the last edition was published in 1992. The author presents a coherent model of therapy which students can apply as they start learning the skills they need in order to effectively work with families. Along with the review of all family therapies currently established in medical practice, Barker provides an extensive list of references for further reading. Basic Family Therapy is a clear, easily comprehensible introduction to the cross-disciplinary subject of family therapy. It is published at a time when such a comprehensive guide to the basics of the field is needed more than ever, and it will satisfy the varied information needs of trainee psychiatrists and pediatricians, psychologists, social workers and counselors, psychiatric nurses, medical students, and family practitioners.

Author Biography

Philip Barker is Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Paediatrics at the University of Calgary and Psychiatrist at Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xi
1 The Development of Family Therapy	1	(11)
The 1960s	3	(3)
The 1970s	6	(2)
The 1980s	8	(2)
The 1990s	10	(1)
Summary	11	(1)
2 Healthy Families and their Development	12	(11)
Normal family functioning	13	(2)
Ethnic variations	15	(1)
The functions of families	15	(1)
Family development	16	(3)
Variations in family development	19	(1)
The clinical importance of family developmental stages	20	(1)
Optimal family functioning	21	(1)
Summary	22	(1)
3 Some Basic Theoretical Concepts	23	(22)
Theories derived from individual and group psychotherapy	23	(2)
Other theories which have been used in therapy with families	25	(13)
Some other concepts and terms	38	(5)
Summary	43	(2)
4 Some Approaches to the Treatment of Families	45	(19)
Psychodynamic Approaches	45	(4)
Behavioural family therapy	49	(2)
Family systems therapy	51	(1)
Structural approaches	51	(3)
Extended family systems approaches	54	(2)
Communications theory	56	(2)
Strategic therapy	58	(3)
Experiential approaches	61	(1)
The overlap between approaches	62	(1)
Summary	62	(2)
5 Models for the Assessment of Families	64	(13)
The McMaster and Process Models	64	(5)
A triaxial scheme	69	(2)
The circumplex model	71	(2)
The Beavers model	73	(2)
The Darlington Family Assessment Systems	75	(1)
Summary	76	(1)
6 Practical Aspects of the Assessment of Families	77	(18)
The initial contact	78	(1)
Joining the family and establishing rapport	79	(3)
Defining the desired outcome	82	(1)
Reviewing the family's history, determining its developmental stage and constructing a genogram	82	(5)
Assessing the current functioning of the family	87	(4)
Developing a diagnostic formulation	91	(1)
Offering the family feedback and recommendations	92	(1)
Arranging the next step	93	(1)
Feedback to referring professionals and others	94	(1)
Summary	94	(1)
7 Establishing Treatment Goals	95	(7)
Defining the desired state	97	(2)
Intermediate and final goals	99	(1)
Motivating families to consider and set objectives	99	(2)
Summary	101	(1)
8 When Should We Use Family Therapy?	102	(13)
Basic criteria for employing family therapy	103	(1)
Differing views on the place of family therapy	104	(1)
Some views on indications	105	(3)
The `decision tree'	108	(3)
Contraindications for family therapy	111	(2)
Summary	113	(2)
9 Practical Points in the Treatment of Families	115	(19)
Involving reluctant family members	115	(5)
Maintaining a therapeutic alliance	120	(2)
Involving children in family sessions	122	(3)
The therapist's use of self	125	(1)
Transference issues	126	(1)
Contracts	127	(1)
The spacing of sessions	127	(1)
Confidentiality	128	(1)
Observers	129	(2)
Co-therapy	131	(2)
Summary	133	(1)
10 Common Family Problems and their Treatment	134	(15)
Task accomplishment problems	134	(3)
Communication problems	137	(4)
Role problems	141	(3)
Behaviour control problems	144	(2)
Poorly functioning subsystems and boundary problems	146	(1)
Suprasystem problems	146	(1)
Delivering direct injunctions	147	(1)
Summary	148	(1)
11 Strategic and Systemic Therapies	149	(25)
The `systemic' viewpoint	151	(1)
Strategic methods of therapy	152	(2)
Reframing and positive connotation	154	(1)
Metaphorical communication	155	(2)
The use of paradox	157	(5)
Rituals and tasks	162	(4)
Declaring therapeutic impotence	166	(1)
Prescribing interminable therapy	167	(1)
Humour	167	(1)
The `Greek chorus'	168	(1)
The debate	169	(1)
Externalizing problems	169	(1)
A storied approach	170	(1)
`King Tiger'	171	(1)
Summary	172	(2)
12 Other Therapeutic Techniques	174	(16)
Interventive interviewing	174	(1)
Family sculpting	175	(1)
Role playing	176	(1)
Videotape replay	177	(1)
Network therapy	178	(1)
Multiple family therapy	179	(1)
Multiple impact therapy	180	(1)
Behavioural approaches	181	(4)
Family therapy and schizophrenia	185	(4)
Summary	189	(1)
13 A Method of Therapy	190	(13)
The relationship between assessment and treatment	190	(1)
Treatment by stages	191	(2)
Direct treatment approaches	193	(4)
Assigning tasks	197	(2)
Other therapeutic options	199	(1)
Reframing and strategic therapy	200	(1)
The therapeutic use of reframing	200	(1)
Other therapeutic strategies	201	(1)
Summary	202	(1)
14 Marital Therapy and Sex Therapies	203	(16)
The development of marital therapy	203	(2)
Healthy marriages	205	(3)
Current approaches to marital therapy	208	(2)
Behavioural marital therapy	210	(1)
Skill deficits and performance deficits	211	(1)
Other approaches to marital therapy	212	(2)
Self-help methods	214	(1)
Divorce therapy and mediation	214	(2)
Sex therapy	216	(2)
Summary	218	(1)
15 Terminating Treatment and Dealing with Treatment Interruptions	219	(12)
Treatment contracts	219	(1)
Open contracts	220	(1)
Indications for ending treatment	221	(3)
How to terminate treatment	224	(2)
Termination tasks and rituals	226	(1)
Emotional and psychological aspects of termination	226	(1)
Follow-up	227	(1)
Treatment interruptions	228	(1)
Summary	229	(2)
16 Teaching and Learning Family Therapy	231	(16)
Who learns family therapy?	232	(1)
What is to be learned?	233	(1)
Teaching therapy	233	(1)
Teaching the practical aspects of family therapy	234	(1)
Other issues related to the learning of family therapy	235	(2)
Audiovisual aids	237	(1)
Learning family therapy skills	238	(1)
The content of training	239	(1)
Supervision	240	(1)
Learning to supervise	241	(2)
Consultation	243	(2)
Summary	245	(2)
17 Research in Family Therapy	247	(15)
The need for family therapy research	248	(1)
The need for clear thinking	249	(1)
Approaches to family therapy research	250	(2)
Assessing and classifying families	252	(3)
Research on the process of family therapy	255	(2)
Outcome research	257	(1)
Enrichment programmes and prevention	258	(1)
Research into specific therapeutic techniques	259	(2)
Summary	261	(1)
18 Issues of Ethics in Family Therapy	262	(9)
Informed consent	264	(1)
Therapists' values	265	(1)
Confidentiality	266	(2)
Ethical decision-making	268	(2)
Summary	270	(1)
References	271	(18)
Index	289