One of the central purposes of an introductory family science textbook is to introduce students to the theory and research methods that are commonly used in the discipline and to the applications of research to practical issues confronting families. We examined seventeen textbooks published between 2012-2019 regarding the amount of content devoted…

Moving beyond both a neoliberal as well as a 'heroic' conception of how the International Baccalaureate (IB) might 'make a better world', this paper focuses on the transformative potentiality of IBDP classroom pedagogy from the perspective of an experienced and critically minded educator, whose praxis has evolved across more than three decades of…

While learning environment research has been growing in popularity over the past few decades, little attention has been given towards the learning environment of graduate students, and virtually no attention has been given specifically towards graduate counseling and related programs such as professional counseling, clinical and counseling…

The importance of pedagogic practices in addressing major social problems is increasingly acknowledged. This is especially so in areas of work not traditionally understood in pedagogic terms, such as services for vulnerable families with young children. Policy mandates for change in relationships between professionals and clients have challenged…

The Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) was used to assess the daily events and emotions of one program's master's-level family therapy trainees in off-campus practicum settings. This study examines the DRM reports of 35 family therapy trainees in the second year of their master's program in marriage and family therapy. Four themes emerged from the…

The movie "Ya Sonra" is evaluated in respect to the basic concepts and principles of symbolic-experiential family therapy. Carl Whitaker, who called his approach "Psychotherapy of Absurdity" mainly emphasized the concepts of absurdity, experientiality, and symbolism. Based on the hypothesis that film analysis supports and…

Theory development is an intentional process by which marriage and family counselors may bridge the gap between research and practice. The theory building process includes inductive and deductive forms of reasoning, qualitative and quantitative approaches to knowledge development, and diffusion of innovations. Grounded theory provides an…

The common factors debate conducted on the pages of this and other major family therapy journals has evolved toward a preliminary consensus that the therapist plays a crucial role in activating and effectively bundling common and model-specific factors in the delivery of successful treatment. However, Blow, Sprenkle, and Davis (2007) remain…

Just 15 years ago, Liddle and Dakof ("Journal of Marital and Family Therapy," 1995; 21, 511) concluded, based on the available evidence, that family therapy represented a "promising, but not definitive" approach for the treatment of drug problems among adolescents and adults. Seven years later, Rowe and Liddle (2003) review described considerable…

Recovery from a mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a challenging process for injured persons and their families. Guided by attachment theory, we investigated whether relationship conflict, social support, or sense of belonging were associated with psychological functioning. Community-dwelling persons with TBI (N = 75) and their…

Despite the growing number of culturally sensitive training models and considerable literature on the importance of training clinicians in larger contextual issues, research examining how students learn to apply these issues is limited. In this participatory action research project, we systematically studied our own process as marriage and family…

Narrative therapy, the strengths perspective, and solution-focused therapy are 3 prominent examples of social work practices heavily informed by social constructionism. Yet getting students from understanding theory to applying theory can often be challenging. This article offers a conceptual framework to aid students in the application of social…

There is a gap in the Marriage and Family Therapy literature regarding clients', therapists', and family judges' theories of change in relational therapy for family violence. We conducted in-depth interviews with eleven court-referred families, their therapists, and two family judges in Bogota, Colombia. Interviews focused on their expectations of…

One of the primary roles of parents is to guide and socialize children to make meaningful life choices. African American parents, in particular, have the additional tasks of preparing their children to thrive in an environment that has historically been hostile toward African Americans. Yet, many African American parents are often depicted as…

For years therapists have suggested that hope is an important catalyst in the process of change. This study takes a grounded theory approach to address the need for a clearer conceptualization of hope, and to place interventions that increase hope within a therapeutic context so that therapists know how and when to use those interventions. Fifteen…