Journal of Family Therapy最新文献

Transgender individuals and their partners may face unique challenges that other couples do not. These unique challenges merit investigation, understanding and consideration by systemic practitioners in order to provide a culturally attuned service for transgender clients. A systematic review of the literature into the experiences of couples in which one member is transgender identified 22 qualitative papers. A translation and synthesis of constructs from these papers utilising a meta-ethnographic approach generated a number of third order constructs organised into nine overarching themes. These themes included experiences of stigma and discrimination, issues of power, privilege, visibility and identity, and experiences of dissonance and dysphoria that required adjustments and negotiations on the personal and relationship levels. Implications for practice and avenues for future research are discussed.

The written transmission of therapists' expertise in manuals is an important issue which is highlighted in the literature. Manuals are essential for research, training and therapeutic guidance. However, the conceptualisation, design and drafting of therapy manuals have received little attention. Our team conceptualised and designed a 10-monthly session multi-family therapy programme for adolescents suffering from anorexia nervosa. This paper presents the methodology used to evolve from training and theoretical models to designing a programme and drafting the accompanying manual. We then describe how our team reached a consensus regarding the role to be attributed to food-related symptoms in the programme. These arduous tasks were rewarded by fruitful discussions among team members, which led to a shared theory of treatment. The methodology presented here is drawn from both the experience of specialised teams and from that of families in providing care to adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

Current literature presents a gap in family functioning assessment instruments directed to children. The Child Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation (C-SCORE) is a self-report instrument, based on the original SCORE-15, that measures different aspects of family functioning from the child's perspective. This study aims to explore the psychometric qualities of the Portuguese version of C-SCORE using a sample of 119 children, aged 8–11 years, recruited from public (state) schools located in North Portugal. Results showed good internal consistency for the total scale and were consistent with the original factorial structure. Correlation analyses using the Perception Scale of Parenting Communication – Children (COMPA-C) provided support for convergent validity. This study represents the first psychometric evaluation of the C-SCORE using a sample of Portuguese children, with exploratory results suggesting that this version presents acceptable psychometric qualities, and may be especially useful to assess family functioning from the child's view.

Studies on the effects of parental alcoholism on adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) have been mostly quantitative. To acquire a richer and better understanding of this realm in Malta, while outlining concrete recommendations to further contain this problem, a qualitative study was thus employed. Six participants were selected after meeting all inclusion criteria. Data were analysed following interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) guidelines. Semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Three superordinate themes, namely a) psychosocial impact, b) coping strategies, and c) a sense of identity, were elevated. A number of findings resulting from this study may point at the resilient nature and skills exhibited by ACOAs, who move on to lead successful lives, despite their past hard life. Recommendations for future applications are discussed. Overall, recognition of children of parents who misuse alcohol should be prioritised in service planning to ensure that their needs are not overlooked.

Refugees and asylum seekers experience throughout their lives numerous losses of various nature. Treating mental health among these communities is challenging owing to language and cultural barriers. In addition, there are specific stressors associated with migration and settlement to be considered. This paper explores the use of the model ‘continuing bonds’ (CB) in two case studies as a form of enquiry. The authors draw upon social constructionist and narrative ideas to provide an enquiry approach that enables clinicians to understand and respond to the numerous losses of one's culture and relationships as a result of migratory grief. This is an emerging enquiry model based on the authors' work with unaccompanied minors which professionals can make use of in responding promptly and treating mental health difficulties within this population, drawing upon both past and present relationships.

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is an intervention offered to young people presenting with antisocial and aggressive behaviour and is currently being adapted for use with the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) population. This qualitative study aimed to provide the first consideration of the experiences of MST therapists and supervisors of delivering standard MST to young people with suspected or diagnosed Level 1 ASD. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 11 MST therapists and supervisors with experience of working with the client group. Thematic analysis identified three major themes: (1) nuanced delivery of MST for Level 1 ASD, (2) need for knowledge and resources, and (3) positive experiences with delivering the intervention. Findings suggested the need for an increased focus on understanding the individual needs of a young person in assessment and intervention, the increased importance of structure and consistency, and psychoeducation for all systems around the young person in order to meet the developmental needs of young people with Level 1 ASD.

This article reports the therapeutic resources in the natural outdoors that were conducive to the therapeutic process in a multi-family therapy (MFT) for enhancing the self-efficacy and collective family efficacy of Chinese families of adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Hong Kong. Photo-elicited interviews with adolescents with ADHD and parent focus groups were employed to explore the participatory experiences of the families. A total of thirteen Chinese families of adolescents (aged 11–15 years) with ADHD participated in this study (fourteen adolescents with ADHD, eight fathers and ten mothers). The present study explored the potential therapeutic resources in the natural outdoors, namely a change in the group environment, spaciousness and darkness. The use of the natural outdoors in MFT proved to be a strategy useful for creating a naturalistic group setting within which family participants can more easily enact changes.