This information analysis paper is based on a computer search of the ERIC database from November 1966 through March 1984, and on pertinent outside resources related to marriage and family counseling. A brief historical perspective of the field of marriage and family counseling is provided, and the differences and overlaps between family,…

Examined the similarities and differences in the theory and practice of structural and strategic family therapy. A national panel of structural and strategic therapists identified items they thought important to a profile of either structural or strategic family therapy. Mental Research Institute, Haley/Madanes, and Milan/Ackerman approaches to…

Holistic epistemology of systems must neither reify the system nor obscure the dynamics of the members. The sometimes diverging perspectives of the psychodynamic/growth and structural/strategic approaches actually converge in the realization that personal experiencing and social structure are not dichotomous phenomena but are related through the…

Describes the potential dysfunctional aspects of open family systems and uses a unified theory to build a composite clinical picture of the disabled open family. The unified theory is shown to be useful in planning strategy and choosing techniques for treatment of open families. Several treatment issues are highlighted. (JAC)

Presents a model for organizing family issues and family treatment. Schutz's Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO) model is offered as a framework for organizing family issues into inclusion, control, and affection categories, constituting a logical hierarchy of core issues to be dealt with in treating multiproblem families. (JAC)

Expanding the treatment system from the individual to the couple or family carries with it some unique challenges and fundamental clinical dilemmas for the marital and family therapist. Marital and couple therapy is explored with a focus on the dilemmas that dyadic relationships bring to the treatment context. The couples central relationship…

This paper focuses on assisting families who have been damaged by substance abuse and on constructive involvement of families to help all members cope. The four main topics are: (1) "Substance Abuse and Family Systems," including the effects of substance abuse on families and children; (2) "Theories and Approaches to Family…

Describes diagnostic perspectives for viewing dysfunctional families. Presents three general types of models (process, structural, and historical) and organized them along a continuum from most descriptive to most inferential. Presented at the 39th Annual Conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, October-November…

Describes and evaluates a five-phase training model which facilitates practitioners' choices in regard to model selection by providing an opportunity to compare their own therapeutic belief and action systems with those of family therapists oriented to one of three historically prominent models of family therapy. (WAS)

Provides an overview for understanding the application of a structural-strategic family counseling model to school-based family counseling. Presents examples from a case study with a six-year-old boy experiencing behavior problems in school, which occurred as problems escalated between his mother and grandmother. Several implications are discussed…

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…

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,…

Describes a comprehensive, integrative model for the initial family interview. Defines essential theoretical constructs which encompass intrapsychic, intergenerational and interactional approaches. Discusses importance of considering therapist behaviors which promote engagement. (Author/ABL)

Just as counseling approaches designed for individuals have their theory-specific techniques, family counseling approaches also have theory-specific interventions and strategies. Whatever presenting problem the family brings to counseling, one or more of four essential components (communication, problem solving, roles and boundaries) is typically…

A system framework is presented for categorizing the various clinical approaches in marital and family therapy. Several ways of bridging the professional gap between therapists and researchers are suggested. Recommendations for interdisciplinary borrowing are indicated and exemplary projects giving new direction to the fields are discussed.…