Clinical Epiphanies in Marital and Family Therapy: A Practitioner's Casebook of Therapeutic Insights, Perceptions, and Breakthroughs

Abstract

D. A. Baptiste, Jr. (Ed.). (2002). Clinical Epiphanies in Marital and Family Therapy: A Practitioner's Casebook of Therapeutic Insights, Perceptions, and Breakthroughs, Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press. 430 pp. Hardcover, $69.95; Paperback, $34.95. ISBN 0-7890-1565-X. In the preface, Baptiste states that Clinical Epiphanies is targeted at marriage and family therapy (MFT) students and trainees, to promote and encourage in-class discussions and debates (p. xxix). He reports that he modeled the book on Standal and Corsini's (1965) collection of clinical cases and commentaries. The book's focus is on turning points that can change the outcome of therapy that is not progressing. Baptiste has compiled 16 case reports, each followed by two commentaries, for a total of 48 chapters packed with detail and clinical description. The main thesis is that many orientations can be used to accomplish the same therapeutic goals-in a word, equifinality, or as Baptiste likes to describe it, more than one way to skin a cat and do it well! (p. xxvii). Although I am familiar with the absence of any demonstrably superior theory of family therapy, I am unaware of many texts in family therapy that attempt to illustrate so many theories with case studies. Only one book on my shelf has a similar format. Papp has (1977) edited a collection of 11 case studies in family therapy ... to give the reader a step-by-step account of the thinking process that takes place in treating a family (p. ix). Papp's text includes contributions by several icons in the field of family therapy. It is intended to provide a glimpse into the personal struggle connecting theory and intervention, and she makes the point that therapists should develop theories that are congruent with their own world views. In contrast, Baptiste's Clinical Epiphanies tries to encourage theory development and teaching by comparing multiple approaches to one case. Clinical Epiphanies has several strengths, and one is the vivid, detailed case descriptions. I was surprised to see quotations in descriptions of cases that were decades old, and I was curious about how the details were generated. Also notable was the long roster of scholarly and experienced contributors, although contributions from academics dwarfed the contributions from full-time practitioners (as mentioned in the informative and critical forward by William C. Nichols). Perhaps the diversity and quantity of experience behind the cases are one reason that this book is provocative on an intellectual level and a visceral level. …