Inside Family Therapy

Follow a family therapist's narrative diary as he documents the process of working with the Salazars, as they explore each stage of their relationship-from courtship through the departure of the children from the home. This unique casebook provides an in-depth, personal account from the counselor's perspective, while also looking at the personal viewpoints of family members. Each major stage of the family life is presented in a separate chapter and the book includes discussions of the effects of gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation on individuals and families. What Reviewers Are Saying: "Strengths include presentation of therapy scenarios; focus on one family going through the therapy to demonstrate the stages of therapy and the stages of family life; real life experiences of the Salazar family members (students get inducted into this and usually 'read ahead' of what is assigned, something not normally done!)." William Quinn, Clemson University "The Inside Family Therapy book is perfect. What is so very impressive about the content and the writing style is how Mike Nichols weaves and threads ways of thinking as he sits with this family, along with specific skills he utilizes in his work with them. It allows students to see and experience what is going on within Nichols and how that is played out in what he says and does with the family. This is not an easy thing to do with the written word (except in novels) but he does it so very well. It also leads to much greater self awareness on the part of the students. Robert Jackson, University of Iowa

List of contents

Preface  
 
1    Disturbing the Peace  
“Can You Help Us?”  
Looking for Leverage  
Dialogue: Setting the System in Motion  
It Must Be a Marital Problem  
Linear versus Circular Causality  
 
2    The Making of a Family Therapist  
Behind the One-Way Mirror  
 
3    Love's Young Dream  
“We'll Sing in the Sunshine”  
Why Do Fools Fall in Love?  
“I Do”  
 
4    The Progress of Love  
“Why Are You so Mean to Me?”  
Idealization  
Accommodation  
Boundaries  
How to Succeed as a Couple by Really Trying  
 
 5   In-Laws  
“Alone at Last”  
Invaders from Another Planet  
Accommodation and Boundary-Making with the In-Laws  
Invisable Loyalties  
Past Tense and Imperfect Future  
 
 6   The Depressed Young Mother  
The Impossible Job  
The Family Life Cycle  
2 + 1 = 2  
Heather's Birth  
The Young and the Restless  
Renegotiating Boundaries with Grandparents  
Reciprocity  
Bitter Fruit  
 
 7   Why Can't Jason Behave?
Fix my Child without Disturbing Me  
Family Rules  
Family Structure  
The Strucural Model  
Blueprint for a Healthy Family  
Uncovering the Structure in a Family  
Building Children's Self-Esteem  
 
 8   The Overinvolved Mother and Peripheral Father  
The need to Restructure the Family  
Shared Parenting  
The Best of Intentions  
Pursuers and Distancers  
Self-Defeating Cycles  
 
9    Family Feud  
Sibling Rivalry  
Enmeshment  
Disengagement  
Brotherhood and Sisterhood  
 
10  Loss of Innocence  
To Tell or Not to Tell, That Is the Question  
All Hell Breaks Loose  
“Why, Why, Why?”  
Moving On  
 
11  Divorce, Remarriage, and Stepparenting  
Families in Transition  
Uncoupling  
Reorganizing  
Blending  
 
12  Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll: The Rebellious Teenager  
That Awful, Awkward Age  
“How Worried Should I Be about My Teenager?”  
The Terrible Teens  
 
13  The Salazars' Family Therapy  
Shifting Boundaries  
All Together Again, and Out  
 
14  Letting Go  
“It's the End of Our Family”  
The Long Good-Bye  
Boomerang Kids  
“Under Certain Conditions”  
Index 

Summary

This unique casebook follows a family therapist's narrative diary as he documents the process of working with the Salazars as they explore each stage of their relationship - from courtship through the departure of the children from home. It provides an in-depth personal account of the process of therapy from the counselor's perspective, as well as a rich, detailed study of a family from courtship through the departure of the children from the home. Each major stage of the family life cycle is presented in a separate chapter.
 
Students of family therapy can use this book in conjunction with their textbooks can be used to accompany any family therapy text, including Nichols/Schwartz's Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods, 8/e and Nichols Essentials of Family Therapy 4/e , to provide a more in-depth and personal view of how to conduct themselves as therapists. The book includes discussions of the effects of gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation on individuals and families. It also provides information about the dynamics of relationships that could be applied by the reader to his or her own life, whether that person is a professional therapist, a student, or a member of the general public.
 

Product details

• Authors: Michael P. Nichols
• Publisher: Pearson Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.01.2009
• EAN: 9780205611072
• ISBN: 978-0-205-61107-2
• No. of pages: 240
• Weight: 380 g
• Series: Allyn & Bacon; Allyn & Bacon
• Subject: Non-fiction book > Psychology, esoterics, spirituality, anthroposophy > Applied psychology