Remembering William C. Nichols, PhD

Abstract

William C. Nichols, PhD passed away on 19 June 2021 at the age of 92. I’m devoting part of this final issue of 2021 to honoring his memory and many contributions to the field of marriage and family therapy. Dr. Florence Kaslow has written a touching personal tribute. I will focus on his scholarly contributions, which are deep and impactful. Bill was a member of our editorial board in the 1980s; one of many leadership positions he held over the course of his stellar career. As Douglas Sprenkle noted: “This is not only a tribute to his indefatigable work ethic, but to Bill’s concern for people and issues at all levels of the [family therapy] profession” (p. xxiii, Everett & Lee, 2006). I met Bill for the only time in 1995 during a visit to The Family Workshop in Atlanta, GA, which housed his private practice. I was there to meet Dr. Gus Napier to discuss a predoctoral internship. I was keen to meet Bill during my stay. Craig Everett, a mentee of Bill’s and later a mentor to me, shared many stories of being Bill’s student and eventually his coauthor. Their book, Systemic Family Therapy: An Integrative Approach (Nichols & Everett, 1986), was my introduction to family therapy and continues to significantly influence my clinical work, teaching, and supervision. During my discussion with Bill, I shared my burgeoning interest in narrative therapy. I was aware of Bill’s emphasis on integration and wondered if he viewed my devotion to narrative practice as naïve. Rather than deflating my enthusiasm, he artfully drew connections between narrative ideas and other models of family therapy. He was always a teacher, even in our informal discussion. Bill’s intellectual contributions to family therapy will be his role as historian of marriage and family therapy and advocate for theory integration, including developmental perspectives (Nichols et al., 2000). At a time when therapists pledged loyalty to specific ideas and individuals, Bill presented a synthesis of concepts that would allow therapists to tailor their treatment to the client and the complexity of their presenting concerns (Nichols, 1988; Nichols & Everett, 1986). Everett and Lee (2006) paid tribute to Bill and his important work in their book When Marriages Fail. In the book’s forward, Gus Napier described Bill’s integrative approach to family therapy: