Non-monogamous relationships, Māori intergenerational trauma, co-research in therapy, parent training, child sexual abuse, and more

The first article for the March issue is ‘It's a magnifying glass for your relationship: a thematic analysis of motivations, benefits, and challenges in consensually non-monogamous relationships’ by Rebecca Codrington and Daniel du Plooy from Sydney, Australia. This qualitative study explores the ‘motivations, benefits, and challenges’ of consensual non-monogamous (CNM) relationships. It identifies three overarching themes: mononormativity and cultural norms; growth and responsibility; and diversity and complexity, each with several subthemes. The challenges of CNM relationships are discussed as well as strategies for managing emotions and ending a relationship for security reasons; for some participants, there was a need to unlearn internalised cultural norms that idealise monogamy. Given the CNM community is comparable to the size of the LGBTQI community and growing, it is time for relationship therapists to address biases and to develop their clinical expertise.

The second paper is ‘Black Rain: a Kaupapa Māori (a Māori approach) to addressing family violence and intergenerational trauma’ by Fay Pouesi from Auckland, New Zealand, and Rosemary Dewerse from Adelaide, South Australia. It presents a Māori approach called ‘Black Rain’ (Kaupapa) that helps men and women to break the cycles of intergenerational violence and trauma within their families. This is built on three elements: recognition and reconnection; acknowledgement of the whole family context; and a spiritual lens. Visual tools like genograms are used to highlight the generational impact of violence. Black Rain is illustrated through the work and learning of a Māori practitioner and two of her colleagues using a composite case study, and the authors note its benefits for helping both victims and perpetrators.

The next article is ‘Co-research interview—collaborative way to learn from experience’ by Eija-Liisa Rautiainen and Aino Maija Rautkallio from Helsinki, Finland. Developed by Tom Andersen and colleagues, the co-research interview, otherwise known as a post-therapy or follow-up interview, is a collaborative way of evaluating therapy outcomes that draws on the experiences of both clients and professionals. The authors describe how the interview is structured, conducted, and applied, and reflect on its use in therapy and post-therapy contexts as well as in live supervision, training, and research.

The fourth article is ‘Therapeutic crisis intervention for families: an investigation of caregiver perceptions and experiences’ by Sarah George and colleagues from Perth, Australia. The therapeutic crisis intervention for families (TCI-F) is a parent training program that has been applied globally to help caregivers deal with children in crisis. This seminal qualitative research study investigates the factors that underlie its effective implementation and describes the experiences of participants. It finds that caregivers could successfully de-escalate and manage crisis situations within the home and draw on the program's resources to implement strategies. The TCI-F is a promising intervention for caregivers struggling to cope with the emotional and behavioural difficulties of their children.

The fifth paper is ‘A relational understanding of the needs of siblings of children who have been sexually abused’ by Maeve Dwan from Dublin, Ireland. This practitioner and participatory-based research project draws on the author's work as a family therapist in a unit for children who have experienced sexual abuse. Its aim is to give voice to the views and experiences of the siblings of sexually abused young people. It found that the siblings suffered significant relational trauma and described intense emotional experiences of isolation, fear, shame, anxiety, confusion, sadness, and anger. The author strongly argues for a tailored intervention that utilises education, resources, and creative approaches; provides a safe space for siblings to talk; and works with the experience of relational trauma across the family system.

The sixth paper is “No one believed us: no one came to help”: caregivers of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and their experiences of child and adolescent to parent violence and abuse’ by Anita Gibbs from Otago, New Zealand. This qualitative interview-based study identifies the occurrence of significant violence and abuse towards parents and caregivers by children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). While caregivers could draw on de-escalating and survival strategies and demonstrated resilience, all reported health and stress issues as well as a lack of understanding from caring professionals, which contributed to feelings of blame, shame, and isolation. What is highlighted is the importance for practitioners to provide empathy and support for caregivers and families of children with neuro-disabilities like FASD as well as the need to fund intervention programs targeting this issue in the domestic violence area.

In the in-practice article, ‘The distress of one-dimensional fertility in an African family,’ Augustine Nwoye from Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, describes an African couple's distress around one-dimensional fertility where there is only male or female children born to the marriage. It presents a collaborative approach to couple therapy utilising a family planning intervention, the Billings ovulation method, in harmony with an African cultural perspective. A detailed case vignette illustrates how this approach can enhance the psychological well-being of couples, whereas conventional medical interventions like medication or in vitro fertilisation can involve complications or harmful consequences. This is a rare insight into a collaborative couple therapy approach integrated with a natural fertility program applied in an African cultural context.

In Dialogues and Interviews there two articles. The first is ‘The Ackerman Institute: a journey of culture and diversity over four decades. A conversation with Evan Imber-Black.’ An esteemed family therapy teacher, practitioner, and author, Evan Imber-Black has been a director of the Ackerman Institute, the editor of Family Process and is well known as a champion for diversity, race, and culture, and for her seminal work on family secrets and rituals. The second Dialogues paper is ‘Systems thinking: fostering collaboration and connections to strengthen the field of family therapy. A conversation with Umberta Telfener.’ Mentored by early pioneers such as Boscolo and Cecchin in Milan, Umberta is a widely published and respected Italian author and a systemic practitioner who has made a substantial contribution to the systemic therapy field and is the current President of the European Family Therapy Association. Both these finely crafted video interviews from Deisy Amorin-Woods take us on a journey of exploration and conversation with two key figures in the systemic and family therapy field.

In June 2024, we look forward to a special issue on Family Systems Therapy by Lauren Errington, Jenny Brow, and Linda Mackay from the Family Systems Institute in Sydney, Australia.