The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy, The Profession of Systemic Family Therapy

,

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781119702177
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Psychotherapy
• Index: Psychology

This first volume of the The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy includes extensive work on the theory, practice, research, and policy foundations of the profession of CMFT and its roles in an integrated health care system.Developed in partnership with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), itwill appeal to clinicians, such as couple, marital, and family therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists. It will also benefit researchers, educators, and graduate students involved in CMFT.

Volume 1 Preface: The Profession of Systemic Family Therapy

Volume 1 of The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy (SFT) chronicles the compelling development and scope of SFT. From the early efforts of a few imaginative and innovative pioneers, the practice and profession of SFT has matured. The theoretical foundation of systems theory still unites the field, but SFT theories have expanded from a focus on the classic SFT theories to include attachment theory and postmodern social constructionist theories. At the same time, SFT has incorporated perspectives of intersectionality that calls for sensitivity to issues of diversity, discrimination, and privilege. The narrative of the parallel developments in research and policy tells the story of the hard‐fought gains in the credibility and legitimacy of SFT as both a professional mental health field and a modality of clinical practice. And the growth is global, with SFTs practicing in most countries in the world, increasingly supported by in‐country training programs and professional SFT associations. Moreover, because of the value of a systemic perspective, the practice of SFT has expanded from traditional social agencies and private practices to medical, business, military, and government settings. Thus, Volume 1 of the handbook recounts the main storylines and the many theoretical, training, research, diversity, ethical, and policy subplots that have led to the development of the effective and vibrant practice and profession of SFT. At the same time, volume 1 provides a panoramic overview of SFT, leaving for the other volumes the pleasant task of presenting the rich details about the effective delivery of SFT services in a variety of settings, to a variety of populations, struggling with a variety of problems.

While editing the volume, we have been able to observe firsthand the labor of love this handbook was for each of the members of the editorial team, especially Karen as the editor‐in‐chief. It has been a pleasure to work with Karen and the other associate editors. Each editor brought unique expertise, experience, and perspective to the project, and our interaction with each of them has enriched us.

And then there are the authors! So many authors graciously agreed to participate in this project and provide their considerable expertise to a wide variety of important SFT topics. Our vision as an editorial team was that each chapter be cutting edge—that the authors summarize and synthesize information relevant to their assigned topic while also identifying gaps and next steps. To put it concisely, the authors were amazing. We have been consistently impressed with how receptive and gracious the authors were in writing and revising their chapters. Each one truly helped produce something that we feel is a significant contribution to our field. The first volume is by far the largest of the four, with over 70 authors who contributed to 33 chapters in this volume. For that reason, we are especially grateful to each of them for their work.

Rick Miller

Being a professor of SFT for over 30 years, editing the chapters in this handbook has almost been a surreal experience because I remember so many of the theoretical, research, training, and policy developments that are described in Volume 1. As I edited different chapters, I kept thinking to myself, “Oh, I remember that.” I participated in the bitter battles to gain MFT licensure and rejoiced with many other SFTs when the series of state‐by‐state fights were finally won and AAMFT was able to declare final victory in the war to gain licensure in the United States. I was at the AAMFT annual conferences when Bill Doherty interviewed Salvador Minuchin, Jay Haley, and Murray Bowen, when Susan Johnson first spoke there and introduced EFT to the field, and when Doug Sprenkle spoke about common factors at a plenary session. I witnessed the theoretical jolt that came from the feminist critique in the 1980s and the subsequent revolution of postmodern theories and treatments. I have observed the steady accumulation of empirical evidence that SFT treatments are effective and cost‐effective and, more recently, the expansion of available research strategies to better capture the complex nature of SFT.

Consequently, working on Volume 1 of the handbook has been an unexpected experience in “life review.” I am proud of the growth that SFT has made since its humble beginnings not that long ago. More importantly, I am proud to be part of a movement that has become a respected profession and practice modality, which gives mental health practitioners across the world the skills to effectively and compassionately treat human suffering, accommodating their work to the myriad contexts in which they find themselves.

Finally, I want to express my appreciation to my wife, Mary, who has been so supportive of my need to spend extra hours working on the handbook. Mary is also an SFT, and we have shared together many of the milestones in the development and maturation of SFT. Our nine children (Marc, Kaylyn, Rob, Janae, Elli, David, Addy, Oakley, and Katie) have also cheered me along. They have all been terrific!

Ryan Seedall

I remember taking an Introduction to MFT class during the last semester of my bachelor’s degree (coincidentally taught by Rick Miller). I was fascinated by systems concepts, especially the power of relationships. Up until that time, I had been a psychology major but not entirely sure what I wanted to do when I graduated. It was at that time that I knew I wanted to be involved in this field and do something of value for individuals, couples, and families. I moved forward with those goals and have not regretted it.

As I have continued in my career, I have noted a number of important issues that our field has or is facing. Some of these include demonstrating our efficacy/effectiveness and legitimacy as a field, moving to more advanced statistics to examine relational questions, addressing the clinician–researcher gap, and broadening our understanding of diverse social identities and those who have been marginalized in an effort to decrease mental health disparities and increase social justice. In April 2018, I was approached by Karen Wampler and Rick Miller to become a co‐associate editor with Rick on Volume 1. I had previously agreed to be an author of a chapter, so I knew of this project and admired the undertaking from afar. Working on Volume 1 has highlighted the rich history and global reach of our field but also the mandate to look forward toward the future to keep improving. There is much to do!

Personally, I am so grateful to have been included in this project. I learned so much from the editorial team and also from the chapter authors. In addition, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the support of Ruth and my four children (Spencer, Madelyn, Eliza, and Benjamin) as crucial for me being able to work on this project. There were tight deadlines and challenges to meet, many of which required work outside of standard business hours. My family inspires me, and so much of what I am able to accomplish is because of them. I am also incredibly grateful for the support of my employer, Utah State University, and my amazing colleagues in my program and department.

Richard B Miller and Ryan B. Seedall

Associate Co‐Editors

Foreword

This four‐volume handbook captures the breadth, depth, and creative applications of systemic family therapy today. The editors and chapter authors capture our profession's understanding of the healing potential of couple and family systems and take that basic understanding in many important directions. Clearly, we have come a long way.

Over my 44 years in the profession, I have described systemic family therapy in progressively different ways. In the beginning, it was a young, emerging profession based on systems theory, then an adolescent finding its place in the world. I explained to doctoral recruits, for a time, that it was the fastest‐growing mental health profession. I explained that while more than half of the presenting problems of clients in a typical mental health clinic had systemic features, most therapists have had little or no training in family therapy. I remember devouring various editions of Gurman and Kniskern's Handbook of Family Therapy and books by Haley, Minuchin, Satir, McGoldrick, Whitaker, deShazer, Johnson, and others the way I read some novels – without coming up for air. I remember for a long time buying into the battle of the name brands, as Lynn Hoffman called our preoccupation with famous model developers and their models. I also quoted Doug Sprenkle (to whom this four‐volume handbook is dedicated) regarding the importance of “the synergetic interplay of theory, research, and practice,” each domain enriching the others.

Doug died recently, but as more than one of his former students explained, he humanized the field, and I see his keen, big‐picture mind and therapist's heart in the chapters of this handbook. He would have been pleased that the authors of this handbook address systems in the margins, internationally, across individual, couple, and family presenting problems, in health care, and in a research‐informed manner. He would have been pleased that in such a diverse field, we still see commonalities in the power of family systems to heal and are giving greater attention to common factors that contribute to that change and to systemic family therapy research that keeps us honest and grounded in empirical data.

I agree with you, Doug. This handbook marks the fact that systemic family therapy is indeed a profession that has taken its rightful place among our sister professions, who are also embracing the power of systemic interventions. This handbook includes systems interventions that address important issues and problems—child maltreatment, global public health, domestic violence, depression, racial and gender issues, sociocultural attunement, policy and advocacy, adolescent substance use, youth suicide, grief and loss, and so much more. The profession and the practice of systemic family therapy are both given attention, as is multidisciplinarity. So is, as Doug might say, the synergism of theory, research, practice, and policy. The editors' coherent organization includes overarching foundations, practice models of relational treatment for children, adolescents, couples, and families, and research foundations, with a global perspective and attention to cultural diversity throughout. In short, the handbook is broad enough to reflect the health and usefulness of systems interventions that meet the very real needs of people today. I also see room to grow, improve, and address a world yearning for a caring, vibrant, evidence‐based discipline that employs the best in ourselves and can positively transform the intimate and varied systems around us.

Fred P. Piercy, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of family therapy at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, and former editor of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.

Fred P. Piercy

Part I
Foundations

1
The Importance of Family and the Role of Systemic Family Therapy

Karen S. Wampler and Jo Ellen Patterson

Family is a fundamental organizing structure for human life from birth to death. There are words for family, sem'ya, mother, eomeoni, and father, alab, in every language on Earth. “Family” is often used as a metaphor trusting that people will understand the reference:

As a mother would risk her life to protect her child, her only child, even so should one cultivate a limitless heart with regard...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• About the Editors
• List of Contributors
• Preface
• Volume 1 Preface
• Foreword
• Part I: Foundations
• Part II: Social and Cultural Contexts
• Part III: Theoretical Perspectives
• Part IV: Methodological Challenges and Advances
• Part V: Training and Practice
• Part VI: Future Directions
• Index
• End User License Agreement