Background: A strong therapeutic alliance or working relationship is essential for effective face-to-face family-based psychotherapy. However, little is known about the use of VC on alliance in family-based therapy. The recent COVID-19 pandemic led to a national lockdown during which most family-based therapy transferred to VC. Objective: The…

This paper explores the idea of possible proto-experiences of the prenatal child in the context of Bion's model of container/contained. The physical configuration of the embryo/foetus contained in the maternal uterus represents the starting point for an enquiry into the unborn child's possible experiences of its state of being contained in a…

This paper offers a way of thinking about the process of parent-infant psychotherapy. I start by outlining some ideas as to what can go awry in troubled parent-infant relationships, and then a way of working with parents with pre-verbal babies. I suggest a model for understanding three interlaced levels at which change might occur if a…

The experience of a workshop set up within a Department of Child Psychiatry to foster family therapy and to develop a brief focal technique is described. Details of the first 29 cases are provided. (JB)

Schools are excellent resources for families whose children are experiencing behavioral problems at home and at school. School counselors who have training in systems theory are situated to help families make lasting positive changes in family structure and to avoid costly interventions that may or may not be helpful. According to…

This speech offers a brief description of Huntington's Disease (HD): its causes, symptoms, and incidence. It then concentrates on the psychological problems of persons one of whose parents had the disease, and the role of the counselor in helping these humans cope with their fears about contacting it themselves. A relatively detailed case study is…

Addresses the usefulness of Relationship Enhancement (RE) therapy as a method for working with "narcissistic vulnerability" in couple relationships. This method provides a structured framework for communication in which persons who have historically experienced inadequate empathy observe and practice empathic accuracy. A case example is…

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 article describes brief therapy using a structural approach. During the course of therapy the encopretic behavior of a pre-adolescent boy was observed in relation to the interaction and structure of the family system. The presenting problem was analyzed as a sign of family dysfunction. (Author)

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…

This paper encourages the combination of behavioral and family therapeutic techniques within the family context. This approach is most helpful during the beginning to intermediate stages of family therapy and provides the therapist with the necessary leverage to allow for effective intervention and change. Three case histories are presented.…

Describes characteristics of borderline adolescents and reviews diagnostic issues. Uses two case studies to illustrate general treatment strategies that could be useful to clinicians in mental health programs and family courts. (JAC)

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…

Severe weight loss, psychological problems, and failure in school of a hearing 10-year-old boy led to crisis intervention by a psychiatrist/social worker team during 6 months of successful conjoint family psychotherapy for the boy, his deaf parents, and hearing siblings. (LC)

A discussion of the key to success in family therapy as found in the change in interpersonal behavior within the family. (JM)