The place of family therapy in the Australian undergraduate social work curricula: Literature and research findings

Abstract

Given the renewed interest in the family as a unit of attention and intervention in social work, as evidenced by the family preservation movement and recent family oriented child protection legislation adopted in a number of Australian states, this paper argues that it is important and timely to examine the place of family theory and family therapy in the undergraduate social work curriculum. Drawing on local and international literature, together with relevant findings of a questionnaire survey of Australian social work educators, the paper explores the relevance of family therapy in the social work curriculum and identifies a number of key curriculum issues that are deserving of attention in Australian schools of social work.