Annotated Bibliography On Family Therapy

The purpose of this paper is to examine the field of marriage and family counseling beginning with the history and development of the profession and its importance in the field of counseling. This paper will also evaluate five major themes relevant to Marriage and Family Therapy which include: roles of Marriage and Family Therapists; licensure requirements and examinations; methods of supervision; client advocacy; multiculturalism and diversity. The author will discuss significant aspects to the field of Marriage and Family Therapy such as MFT identity, function, and ethics of the profession. This paper will assess biblical values in relation to Marriage and Family Therapists and to the field

Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy employed to assist members of a family in improving communication systems, conflict resolution, and to help the family to deal with certain problems that manifest in the behavior of members. In most cases, deviance in a family member is an indication of underlying family dysfunctions. This paper looks the counselling procedure that can be applied to help the Kline family solve their problems. It answers certain questions including those of the expected challenges during therapy and ways of dealing with the challenges.

More specifically, Freud traces the roots of all adult behaviors back to childhood impulses and showed how conflicts related to the development of sexuality in childhood subsequently results in psychopathology or neuroses. (Good & Beitman)

Family therapy so that his mother and father can learn new stratus and techniques to help Khimahni. The therapist can focus on the needs of the family and the needs of Khimahni as well. The goal of therapy is to bring the family together to restore the homeostasis. The therapist will figure out which approach is best the for the family. The family system learns how to reconnect with one other in spite of the disorder.

Strategic family therapy likes to the entire family together for couples and counseling which is one of the utmost intriguing approaches.

In our modernized world today, with more technology, social media, cell phones, we as counselors are faced with a world of more communication issues among families, couples, teenager with their parents, teenagers with their teachers, and elders, than any other time in history. Our credibility in this field and professional role are ever updating our research information, data base cases studies, and seeking new treatment to equate our constant changes in our society. Despite the new ideas of changes, some methods for treatment in the world of counseling remain open to revise certain formats and criteria’s that have worked successfully in mending the current demands. Therefore, “as our society continues to undergo major cultural shifts toward becoming more secularized, Christian counselors in particular are in unique positions to point out how societal pressures and trends might affect Christian families that we serve.”

Each above strategy showed to be effective in reducing alcohol related elderly harm in the family. The intervention of Family Psychotherapy provides family members with tools to help their elderly family member in their recovery. The family are educated on the consequences of mixing alcohol and medications, supervising medication, helping with dietary regimens, limiting access to alcohol and the irreversible affects of alcohol. This provides skills and understanding to better assist the family member in the recovery process. Living in a family environment prevents loneliness which can be the main reason in some cases for substance abuse among older individuals (Kalapatapu,

Marriage and Family Therapy is a distinct specialization that focuses on providing therapeutic treatment that treats a wide range of clinical issues that affect individuals, families, and communities. Marriage and Family Therapists focus on understanding an individual’s behavior through assessments of an individual’s past and present relationships (About Marriage and Family Therapist, 2016). Marriage and Family Therapist strive to heal an individual holistically and is solution-based; looking to facilitate a positive outcome (About Marriage and Family Therapist, 2016). Marriage and Family Therapist are able to take on a role that empowers the individual, strengthens the family, and offer positive solutions to the community’s mental health concerns. In order to operate legally in the United States, a Marriage and Family Therapist must successfully enroll and complete a graduate or post graduate program and take state and national board examinations conducted by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (About Marriage and Family Therapist, 2016).

Marriage and Family Therapy, particularly the family aspect, has a long history. Some of the family aspect was touched on by such leaders in the field as Freud and Rogers. The focuses for these two theorists however, were based on the impact, particularly the negatives, on the family and didn’t delve into the treatment of the family as whole. This base work however led to the questions asked by the early pioneers interested in treating the family as a whole unit. The question that really set things off was, “‘To what extent would we have to reject and/or accept prevailing theoretical concepts and techniques from individual theories to succeed (Chabot, 2011)?’”

In marriage and family therapy, we will have many conversations about uncomfortable topics with our clients, including sex. Today's society considers it to be taboo, but these conversations are to be expected in dealing with couples. We as therapists must find comfort in communicating with our clients about sex/gender issues. Although these conversations might be fairly uncomfortable, the therapist can be proactive by conducting research on common sexual/gender related issues and build comfort and confidence in discussing the topics. Hypothetically speaking, if a couple is seeing the therapist about sexual issues, the therapist might allow the couple to lead the conversation based on the comfort of the client. The therapist might also validate

Family therapy involves working with each member of the family to help them solve a group or individual problem that may cause hindrances that prevents the family being a cohesive unit. Family therapy is most often used to help treat an individual's problem that is affecting the entire family, such as an addiction, depression, or behavioral problems. This type of counseling can also be useful for addressing family-wide problems such as conflicts between siblings, spouses, or parents and children.

International family therapy is a new movement within field of family therapy. It is best described as a collective drive to gather and share experiences of family therapists from different countries. Family therapy, as with almost all psychological research and publications, has historically been centered on Western cultures and family systems. International-based family therapy conferences are designed to promote cross-cultural understanding.

All families have conflicts that they need help resolving. Family therapy is defined as a type of psychological counseling. This type of therapy is typically short term. Family therapy improves communication, understanding, and resolves conflicts. It can be provided by a clinical social worker, licensed therapist, or a psychologist. It doesn’t have to include all family members, often times it is only the ones willing to participate. The goal of family therapy sessions is to teach skills that will help the family get through conflicts even after attending sessions.

Family is something that plays a tremendous role in our life. Even though the structure of families has changed over the years, it is important to acknowledge that there many families out there whether they are traditional families, nuclear family, stepfamilies or others which tend to have different types of problems in their families. Therefore, many families attempt to go to family therapy in order for them to obtain help in solving the different types of issues they might have at home. As stated in the book Family Therapy by Michael P. Nichols (2013), “The power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interaction… What keeps people stuck in their inability to see their own participation in the problems that plague them. With eyes fixed firmly on what recalcitrant others are doing, it’s hard for most people to see the patterns that bind them together. The family therapist’s job is to give them a wake-up call” (2013).

Thanks for your input! I agree, I think bipolar disorders is not an easy mental illness to deal, and it is always ups and down for the patient. For children, I think it is even harder since they are still young and trying to figure out who they really are. For patients, regardless at what age you are at, I think families support is an important aspect in recovery. A study was conducted regarding family therapy with bipolar disorder youth. Adolescents with bipolar disorder who received family therapy recovered more quickly from depressive episodes and stayed free of depression longer than a control group. Each of the family therapy lasted for at least 50-minute sessions and the family therapy went on for about 9 months. The therapy