Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy最新文献

Developmentalists have demonstrated that the quality of relationships established by infants with their proximal social environment is crucial for lifecourse development. However, studies of parent–infant relationships have mostly centred on the mother–child dyad. Stemming from family systems theory that considers interactions within the whole family as critical for an individual's personal development, a group of family therapists and researchers in Lausanne (Switzerland) tried to bridge the gap between systemic and developmental thinking by stressing the need to establish the mother–father–infant triad as a collective unit of study. In response, they created the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP), a method to systematically assess the quality of mother–father–infant interactions. The LTP is an observational situation during which parents are asked to play with their infant in four parts: (i) one parent plays with the infant, while the other parent is ‘simply present’; (ii) the parents switch roles; (iii) all three play together; (iv) the parents discuss in front of the infant. The theoretical model underpinning the LTP is the family alliance model, which postulates that the quality of the coordination demonstrated by the triad to achieve this task can be assessed mainly through careful observation of non-verbal behaviours as indicators of the achievement of four interactive functions (i.e., participation, organisation, focalisation, affect sharing); fulfilment of these functions determines the quality of relational functioning within the system. This article introduces the clinical, theoretical, and empirical foundations of using the LTP method with the family alliance model; its use in clinical and research contexts; and the most recent advances in the field of research on mother–father–infant interactions based on the LTP situation.

Tracing its beginnings to the mid-1990s, coparenting theory and research, guided greatly by Minuchin's structural family theory, have deepened socialisation perspectives in the field of developmental psychology. Coparenting theory has perhaps had its largest impact in the field of infant-family mental health, where empirical investigations of coparenting and family-level dynamics have dovetailed with studies of family alliances and triangles and inspired creative interventions to support families of infants and toddlers. In this article, the authors retrace some of the early accounts of coparenting and triangular interactions during infancy, highlighting symmetries with analogue conceptualisations discovered in the field of family therapy. Emphasising key concepts and lessons divined from the infant-family mental health literature holding value for the practice of family therapy, the article also recognises the dominant Euro-Western bias that has shaped much of the extant literature to date. A closing section addresses two important areas calling for more concerted attention by infant-family mental health experts and family therapists alike – under-appreciated and misunderstood elements of men's psychology connected to their core self-definition, and cultural distinctions in normal family processes. In both cases, if misread or misunderstood by the helping professional, the recipients of therapeutic services may experience failures of empathy.

In working with Māori to address family violence and the trauma that arises when it is occurring across generations, three elements are essential. The first is helping whānau (family members) to recognise and reconnect with the impact of the violence they are caught up in. The second is to do so in a way that contextualises this because it never involves and affects individuals alone. And third is to do so by being conscious of the whole of a person's being and being aware that the spiritual realm is the entry point. For 30 years, Fay Pouesi has been working with Māori whānau, initiating kaupapa (approaches) that include these three elements. This article details one kaupapa, known as Black Rain, which has been successfully helping men and women to break the cycles of intergenerational violence within their whānau since 2010. To do this, we will draw upon Fay's work and that of two colleagues who now work with her.

The advent of COVID-19 as a global public health crisis in 2020 was quickly followed by predictions regarding likely increases in occurrences of domestic and family violence (DFV). The aim of this study was to understand the impact of the pandemic on practitioner experiences of DFV in one service organisation in New South Wales, Australia. Qualitative focus group interviews were performed with senior practitioners at Relationships Australia (NSW), and a grounded theory approach was employed in formulation of a perspective which highlighted social isolation under public health management social distancing measures as that which distinguished practitioner experiences of DFV during COVID-19. Social isolation was conceived as the overarching factor across categorisations of practitioner responses, including: (a) situations of client domestic relations; (b) client general life circumstances; (c) emerging client self-awareness; (d) organisational and social systems changes; and (e) necessary work practice changes. Organisational and workplace recommendations address the relative difference of pandemic management measures from natural disaster occurrences, with respect to supporting people experiencing DFV.

Few topics generate as much controversy and confusion in society, therapeutic practice, and science as violence in families, often referred to as domestic violence. There is a neverending dispute around the definition and about the statistics. Is relational violence mainly against women or are women as violent as men in intimate relationships? Outcomes from research are contradictory. When we zoom out, we can be aware that violence is everywhere and that we are part of it. At the same time, we can sense that the world is full of love. Both are part of the destructive dynamics of escalating conflicts in families that are more related to powerlessness than to power. In a therapeutic context we focus on the destructive dynamics in which the languages of perpetrator and victim are not helpful. We suggest the formulation of keystones as light posts to help us find a way to help family members to de-escalate conflict.

Intimate partner violence is a major problem in Australia, impacting many families that are on the cusp of disruption and intervention by the child protection system. Using an innovative method of inquiry, the article explores the role of dedicated men's workers in a South Australian non-government organisation's intensive family service that works towards keeping families safe and together. The dedicated men's worker positions are integrated into a multidisciplinary model that works with fathers who have been a part of situational violence within the family. The men's workers' (and co-authors') reflections offer insight into systemic barriers, practical therapeutic interventions, engagement work with fathers, how this is approached, and the various outcomes experienced. Blending auto-ethnography reflections, elements of rapid ethnographic assessment, and the use of rigorous and accelerated data reduction, we demonstrate the need for increased supports for some fathers. These should include therapeutic engagement and working with the underlying trauma of fathers to ensure the whole family is supported and offered opportunity for healing and sustainable preservation. We also consider the more encompassing lifeworlds of the men and the need to drive and support broader sociocultural shifts.

Men's behaviour change programs (MBCPs) are group programs for men using family violence. This preliminary evaluation examines participants' and facilitators' perceptions of a redeveloped MBCP. Participants reported significant improvements in their ability to manage stress, understand the impact of their use of violence, and apply skills to repair the impact of their use of violence. Facilitators reported that peer support was an important component contributing to changes in the participants' knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and behaviours. Preliminary findings indicate that the program could potentially influence men's perceptions of family violence and consequently promote the safety and wellbeing of women and children.