From the Editor: Signs of the Times

Abstract

Some of the questions often heard when students as well as other mental health professionals are introduced to a systems perspective, with its focus on context and relationships, is ‘‘What about the individual person?’’ and ‘‘Where does he or she fit?’’ Given a society in which individualism is one of its most cherished values, such questions, and the fears from which they likely are derived, make perfect sense. However, these fears are unfounded given the fact that families and relationships are comprised of individuals, understanding of whom is essential if the work of the family therapist is to be as effective as possible. Nevertheless, despite such reassurances, the early literature in the marriage and family therapy (MFT) field was characterized primarily by articles focusing on relationship dynamics. This certainly was appropriate given the paradigm shift of a cybernetic epistemology and the excitement it generated as the focus moved away from the internal dynamics of the individual mind to a consideration of systems in general and families in particular. But, ‘‘the times they are a changin’.’’ In light of the fact that the pendulum always tends to swing back, as well as the reality that MFT has aged a bit as a profession, we now see more of a balance throughout the literature. And this certainly is the case here, as illustrated by the topics, as well as the number of articles in each of the categories into which the articles in this issue seemed to fall. These categories include (1) a focus on individuals; (2) a focus on the parental and spouse subsystems; (3) a focus on family dynamics relative to obesity; and (4) a focus on training, albeit with a relatively new twist. In the individual category, Kristen Williams and Sarah Francis studied and have written about ‘‘Parentification and Psychological Adjustment: Locus of Control as a Moderating Variable.’’ A second article, also with more of an individual focus, provided by Z. Seda Sahin, David Nalbone, Joseph Wetchler, and Jerry Bercik, is titled ‘‘The Relationship of Differentiation, Family Coping Skills, and Family Functioning with Optimism in CollegeAge Students.’’ Then, moving from the undergraduate to the graduate level, Raquel Delevi amd Ash Bugay had as their goal ‘‘Understanding Change in Romantic Relationship