From the Editor: A Little Something for (Almost) Everyone

Abstract

Over the course of its 70? year history, family therapy has grown from being comprised of a small group of innovative thinkers and practitioners known mostly to themselves into a large and diverse field that has worldwide recognition as an effective means for helping individuals, couples, and families. What is more, this field is made up of an ever expanding group of professionals who play many different roles and have a wide range of interests. Such variety, of course, is essential and speaks to the health and long-term viability of the field. That is, without the expansion and development of theory our approaches would likely become outmoded and less effective. Without educators and supervisors trainees in the field would have nowhere to turn for the instruction necessary to become well-qualified professionals. Without close scrutiny of our approaches and assessment tools we might find ourselves doing more harm than good. Thus it is important that journals such as Contemporary Family Therapy continue to support and encourage the various roles and interests of the field’s members. Sometimes this happens with special editions comprised of articles devoted to a single topic. Other times journal editors create several sections, with each article fitting into a particular category. And then there are instances, as with the current edition, when there is such a range of topics that there seems to be a little something for (almost) everyone. Accordingly, the menu for this edition follows, with interest group indicated for each. My hope is that readers will find one or more articles that relate(s) to a current area of interest as well as articles that expand their focus to include other areas for exploration. Given the international nature of this journal, I also have indicated the authors’ country of origin at the end of each article summary. For those interested in education-informed practice and practice-informed education: ‘‘The Importance of Spirituality in Couple and Family Therapy: A Comparative Study of Therapists’ and Educators’ Beliefs’’ by Thomas Stone Carlson, Christi McGeorge, and Amy Anderson sheds light on differences and similarities between those teaching and those practicing relative to the incorporation of spirituality in therapy with clients (USA).