Journal of Family Therapy最新文献

Feeding problems in early childhood are common and affect parental behaviour with more use of maladaptive feeding strategies. Although multi-family therapy is well known as an effective intervention for adolescents and adults with eating disorders/problems, the use of multi-family therapy for toddlers with feeding problems is rather rare. In this paper we describe how we adapted the evidence-based goals of multi-family therapy to a specific format for parents and toddlers and how we used it in our clinical work. We explain the importance of creating a supportive culture in which parents may develop effective feeding strategies. We describe how we used non-verbal techniques in multi-family therapy as a tool for growth for both toddlers and parents. We end with some retrospective reflections and directions for future therapy and research.

Child criminal exploitation is a form of child abuse, linked to youth gang involvement and with long-lasting serious consequences for communities. Multisystemic therapy (MST) is a systemic intervention for antisocial behaviour with an extensive evidence base but there is limited research focussing on gang involved or criminally exploited young people. Through semi-structured interviews, this study qualitatively explored young people at risk of exploitation (n = 4) and their caregivers (n = 6) experience of MST across three sites in England. Four themes emerged through thematic analysis: changes experienced; improved caregiver-young person relationship; facilitators of change; and barriers to change. The process of MST facilitated behaviour change and supported development of support networks for caregivers and engagement with prosocial young peers. Barriers to change included young people's association with negative adults and frequent peer relationship changes. Further exploration of the complex associations between negative adults and young people at risk of exploitation is recommended.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a distressing mental illness that is overrepresented in adolescents and youth and which was previously thought difficult to treat. Families and carers of those with BPD can also experience high levels of distress and burden and can struggle in their support of those with BPD. The Families and Carers Training and Support (FACTS) program is an innovative skills and education program for family members and carers of someone with BPD informed by mentalisation-based treatment (MBT) principles. To address a gap in the research, the present study aimed to see what effect, if any, a carer-focused intervention has on the young people with BPD themselves. To assess this, interviews were conducted with eight young people whose family members participated in the program. Overall, the young people felt there had been positive changes during and after their family members' participation in the program. They felt the communication with their family members improved; they also felt more understood and that they had more space and freedom in the home and that the tension in the household decreased. Additionally, several young people felt they would have liked to be more involved in the process and to take part in the program alongside their family members. The findings indicate that interventions focusing on building understanding and self-awareness in carers of those BPD can be important in ameliorating the challenging impact of BPD on young people and their families.

Social GGRRAAACCEEESSS must be addressed by the therapist, as they can easily and unintentionally be missed. The present article is based on a qualitative analysis of two case examples to draw out extracts of conversations around such biases. The purpose of the article is to bridge the heuristic of the Social GGRRAAACCEEESSS with the concept of semantic polarities and to illustrate the complex positioning of the therapist in encounters with intercultural couples. Both a semantic analysis and a deductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse extracts of material from two case studies. The findings are discussed adopting joint systemic and psychodynamic approaches. Social GGRRAAACCEEESSS can either remain unvoiced and marginalised or can be brought to the surface. The article addresses the importance of the therapist's role in highlighting marginalised discourses and managing unintentional alliances.

Multi-family therapy for children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa (MFT-AN) draws on the same principles as family therapy for AN (FT-AN), but is delivered in a more intensive format to help families overcome a sense of isolation and stigmatisation and to maximise their own resources. In Japan, the main treatment for AN is inpatient care, and family-based treatment that is based on the practice at the Maudsley Hospital in the 1980s has started to be introduced at an inpatient level in Japan. MFT-AN could offer more opportunities to practice managing AN symptoms and reduce the family's anxiety. It may also act as a step-down intervention during transition from inpatient to outpatient care or a step-up in intensity if outpatient treatment is stalling. This article reports on MFT-AN's theoretical underpinnings, the current Japanese eating disorder treatment context, and the way MFT-AN may be adapted for the unique Japanese socio-cultural context.

There is a paradoxical paradigm operating in neurodiverse families with autistic children, indicating increased stress alongside enrichment of family life. An emerging body of research has shown that the use of family therapy can improve family functioning and relationships in neurodiverse families. The current study uses constructivist grounded theory to explore clinicians' experiences and perceptions of utilising family therapy in the context of autism. Study findings suggest that clinicians integrate therapeutic techniques from diverse family therapy approaches to improve family relations by bridging different ways of learning and communicating as well as facilitating multiple perspectives. Integrating therapeutic techniques across diverse approaches further encompasses working with the systems around the individual with autism. To adapt family therapy in the context of autism, it is suggested that clinicians examine their own perspectives and beliefs about autism and keep a curious stance during the process.

Personal and Professional Development (PPD) has been long considered a central component of counselling and psychotherapy training. Key literature in respect of PPD approaches for psychotherapy training is reviewed, and the scant literature specifically relating to systemic psychotherapy noted. The ‘Four Selves’ PPD Framework, developed in Northern Ireland by the lead author as part of qualifying-level Systemic Psychotherapy training, is presented, including its diagrammatic representation, constituent elements and an illustrative example. This is followed by guidance from the PPD tutor (lead author) based on her experience of utilising the Framework to facilitate tailored PPD sessions across the two-year clinical Masters programme aimed at enhancing trainee self-reflexivity, supplemented by feedback on the ‘model-in-practice’ from a recent cohort of students. The article concludes by encouraging readers to consider the applicability of The ‘Four Selves’ PPD Framework to their own psychotherapy training contexts.

Astrophysicists and cosmologists seriously propose that our universe, with its three dimensions and local physical bylaws, is one of an infinite number of parallel universes. This paper discusses the relevance of these ideas for contemporary systemic family therapy, such as thinking about the therapist's positioning in relation to the family. Ideas such as the anthropic principle suggest each meeting of a therapist and family forms a unique systemic entity or singularity with its own universe of by-laws peculiar to a location in time and space. We are like travellers between parallel family therapy universes where the therapist's epistemology, theory or model is less important than how therapists and clients position themselves towards each other. This ecological positioning encompasses contextual, emotional, cultural, ethical and spiritual belief systems.

This study explores the experience of family therapists performing ‘everyday’ acts of resistance against practices within the National Health Service (NHS) that contradict their values. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyse semi-structured interviews with five family therapists working in the NHS. Themes explored include the influence of the self of the therapist on their motivation to resist, and the necessity of resisting to survive in the job and ensure families' marginalised voices are heard in the wider system. The tension in balancing competing needs in the system and the energy that resisting both gives and takes are described, as well as how others in the system influence the therapists' ability to resist. Resisting emerges as a critical role of the family therapist, as well as crucial for practitioners to work in a way coherent with their sense of self.

Although studies have examined the association between individuals' mindfulness and romantic relationship quality, additional empirical research is necessary to specifically comprehend the potential factors influencing the association between mindfulness and couple quality. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between mindfulness and couple quality and the mediating roles of self-care and engagement in shared relationship activities among 1,331 participants in a southeastern region of the United States. The authors of this study conducted a multiple mediation analysis using longitudinal data to investigate the mediating effects of caring for self and engagement in shared relationship activities. The research findings in this study indicated that an individual's mindfulness had a significant direct association with couple quality in a romantic relationship. In addition, participants' couple quality was significantly mediated by self-care and engagement in shared relationship activities with a romantic partner. Implications for educators, researchers and practitioners are discussed.