Clinical assimilation of the various methods of family therapy, while maintaining an analytic, self-psychology perspective gave rise to Complementary Narcissism's novel system's perspective of the individual in context. While Complementary Narcissism Theory is applicable to all families, its interventions are most effective with those families who…

Most research in psychotherapy has focused on adult clients, while child psychotherapy has been comparatively neglected. To identify predictors of outcome in psychotherapy for children, the relationship between several client, therapist, and economic variables was examined. Subjects were 268 children and their families who had completed treatment…

Family systems theory's contribution to the world of psychotherapy was its move away from lineal causality toward a view of human relationships as not merely multi-determined, but unavoidably and inextricably inter-related and inter-dependent. Circular causation allows the therapist to assume enormous flexibility. The rise of family therapy in…

There seems to be a preoccupation with "the family" today, and a current competition for the role of Family Saviour within the helping professions. Practitioners are much more conscious about protecting their territory from infringement by competitors in the current funding situation of human services. Overlapping professionals doing variations on…

The assessment process can be integrated with treatment and evaluation for helping teenage suicide attempters and families in short term psychiatric hospitalization programs. The method is an extremely efficient way for the therapist to work within a given time constraint. During family assessment sufficient information can be gathered to…

This paper reviews family therapy with chronically dysfunctional families including the development of family therapy and current trends which appear to give little guidance toward working with severely dysfunctional families. A theoretical stance based upon the systems approach to family functioning and pathology is presented which suggests: (1)…

It is postulated that the standard framework for psychotherapy, a cooperative transference neurosis, does not validly carry over to the successful psychotherapy of a two-generation family group. In many disturbed families, the necessary and sufficient dynamics for change must be initiated, controlled, and augmented by a group dynamic power-play,…

Although psychotherapy traditionally has been thought of as talking therapy, written communication can be used as an effective supplement, across a range of theoretical approaches and therapeutic stages. Writing can aid clients in deepening awareness and enable them to use their inherent resources for becoming whole persons. For example, one…

Photographs and family albums are helpful in marriage and family psychotherapy to aid in the understanding of family processes, relationship patterns, goals, expectations, values, traditions, and ideals. Based on the assumption that a photograph is a form of communication, photography can be used to: (1) examine typical family picture-taking…

This paper explores the history of deconstruction and discusses the use of the theories it involves within the author's work in family therapy situations. Jacques Derrida's term, deconstruction, has achieved widespread use among psychotherapists. This derives largely from the influence of Michael White, who has interpreted it in a Foucauldian way…

A psychologist, who is the father of a child with a neuromuscular disorder, discusses psychosocial services for special needs children and their families. Parents are identified as the key to the family's mental health. Parents' feelings upon learning of their child's handicap include anger, blaming others and self, and guilt. These feelings are…

Behavior modification has been used in classrooms, industry, and marriage counseling. In behavioral family therapy, the therapist examines how family members learn undesirable behaviors, how they can unlearn these behaviors, and how they can learn more desirable behaviors. This type of therapy is a method of direct treatment in which goals are…

This paper describes a strategic, paradoxical therapy approach useful in family therapy. A discussion of the criteria for case selection indicates the ideal profile to be a case which has been treated by several therapists, using various modalities, with virtually no change. Other indications of the need for strategic therapy are discussed,…

One of the most promising contemporary approaches to working therapeutically with children and their parents and families is to employ the parents and/or other family members as play-agents, or play therapists. The incorporation of parents and other family or family-surrogate figures into the play therapeutic treatment of children has therapeutic…

There are four general approaches to treatment for the symptomatic child. In individual child psychotherapy, the child is seen alone and play therapy is often utilized to help the child become aware of his feelings and express them more appropriately. In conjoint parent-child psychotherapy and counseling, the child is seen together with one…