Family Therapy Training Research Articles

Marriage and Family Therapy Trainees' Reports of Explicit Weight Bias.

Discrimination based on an individual's weight has been observed in health care, education, retail, and other public sectors (Puhl & Huer, Obesity, 17, 941, 2007). Such inequity, known as "weight bias," generates negative short-term and long-term consequences for the individuals that experience it (Puhl & Brownell, Weight bias in health care settings, 2007). Past research has shown that healthcare trainees exhibit weight bias (Phelan etal., Obesity, 22, 1201, 2014; Wigton & McGaghie, Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16, 262, 2001), yet little focus is given to weight bias in marriage and family therapy (MFT) education. The purpose of this study was to survey MFT students (N=162) to explore weight bias and how contextual factors associate with weight bias. Participants in MFT programs reported explicit weight bias, with specific contextual factors associating with more bias. Female participants reported more fear of gaining weight, and individuals who identified as overweight had higher rates of explicit weight bias. Contextual differences and implications for training programs are discussed.

Democratizing Academic Writing: A Revision of an Experience of Writing an Autoethnographic Dissertation in Color

In this paper, I revise my experience of writing an autoethnographic ( Ellis, 2004) dissertation in the field of family therapy as a Colombian mestiza. I discuss how I grappled with my writing, and, in the process, stumbled into matters of democratizing texts. I problematize male - dominant academic standards, telling of the tensions when maneuvering at marking cultural and gender differences in my text. I focus on the storywriting of my storytelling when writing aesthetic, evocative, and emotional stories as a woman of color, at the intersection between autobiography and ethnography (Ellis, 2004). I discern elements of my handicraft as an artisan autoethnographer in training, taking from my local knowledge and family therapy training, in particular narrative therapy (White & Epston, 1990). I include excerpts of my dissertation to illustrate how my narrative therapy practices, intermingled with my cultural storytelling traditions, assisted me in shaping my idiosyncratic autoethnographic stories. I hope to add to the diversification of writing in the academia to make it more democratic and accessible; and to continue conversations about alternative ways to go about it.

Early aging in Chernobyl clean-up workers: long-term study.

This paper represents data of long-term open prospective study. 312 male clean-up workers, who participated in elimination of the Chernobyl disaster consequences in 1986-87, were observed and examined in Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry. The average age of patients was 57,0 ± 6,8 years. All patients were diagnosed with psychoorganic syndrome, caused by combination of different factors, which led to early cerebrovascular pathology, which was confirmed by clinical, neuropsychological, and instrumental examination. Anamnesis and the level of social adaptation were also assayed. Clinical estimation was done with the use of specially developed Clinical Psychopathological Chart. All the symptoms were divided into 4 groups (asthenic, psychovegetative, dysthymic, and cognitive symptom-complexes). No pronounced signs of dementia were observed. The control group included 44 clean-up workers without mental disorders. Predomination of various exogenous factors before and after accident was noted. Therapy included different vasotropic remedies, as well as family therapy, art therapy, and cognitive training. The possibilities of the reverse development of symptoms were statistically proved. The results allow making a conclusion that these disorders could not be explained either by radiation effects or by PTSD but connected with cerebrovascular pathology.

Targeting Threats to the Therapeutic Alliance: A Primer for Marriage and Family Therapy Training.

Although theory and research highlight the importance of the client-therapist relationship, marriage and family therapy (MFT) training has historically centered on specific models, consisting of proprietary language and techniques, instead of common factors like the therapeutic alliance. In this article, we begin by making an argument for explicitly focusing on the therapeutic alliance in MFT training programs. Next, we highlight common alliance threats experienced by both faculty members and student therapists. We then integrate research-informed principles with clinical wisdom to outline specific recommendations and concrete skill-building exercises for MFT educators and supervisors to use with their students to address these threats and advance training on the therapeutic alliance.

Qualitative Study on Cis-Male Students’ Gender Perspectives in the Couple and Family Therapy Classroom

The purpose of this qualitative study was to hear cis-male participants' voices after completing a gender-training course in a Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education couple and family therapy program. Participants' narratives included reactions and responses to being shaped by the dominant society, their thoughts about self-transformation, and behaviors associated with this change. Moreover, the authors addressed the implications of gender role conflict on males in couple and family therapy training courses.

The Intersection of Spirituality, Religion, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity in Family Therapy Training: An Exploration of Students’ Beliefs and Practices

This study explored the relationship between the level of clinical training that family therapy students receive related to spirituality and/or religion and their beliefs about providing therapy to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clients. The sample consists of 341 students in family therapy programs who completed an online survey assessing the level of training on spirituality and/or religion that students received as well as indicators assessing the level of congruence between students’ spiritual and/or religious beliefs and the practices of LGBT affirmative and reparative therapies. The findings highlight a number of significant associations between the training students receive on spirituality and/or religion and their beliefs about therapy with LGBT clients.

The Birth of Family Therapists: The Kosova Systemic Family Therapy Training Program

The purposes of this article are to describe a program of training a pioneering group of family therapists in a developing country delivered by trainers from abroad, and discuss the benefits of such a project and the difficulties it encounters. The four-year Kosova Systemic Family Therapy Training Program is in the first half of its third year when these lines are being written. It is sponsored by the Kosova Health Foundation and carried out by an International Family Therapy Association-affiliated team of traveling trainers who come to Kosovo from various parts of the world. The trainers vary considerably in personality and theoretical orientations. The training includes five main components: An overview of the field, its history and its diverse theoretical orientations and approaches to practice, a wide scale systematic integration, skills development, personal development, and supervised practice. The training is conducted by short, in loco, direct-contact modules and by distance learning and supervision. Kosovo, formerly an semi-independent region in the south of Serbia and a part of Yugoslavia, populated mainly by Muslim Albanians, declared its independence in 2008, ten years after the culmination of a bitter war. Kosovo is now struggling with the after-effect of the war and with rapid social, demographic, and cultural changes running fast ahead of its political and economical development. The effects of all these changes on the functioning of families are dramatic. The goals of the training program are to train a first generation of family therapists who will hopefully serve the affected community and eventually prepare the next generation. So far, this has proved a rewarding, but by no means easy, task.

Counseling the Unemployed: Exploring MFT Trainees’ Perceptions of a Pilot Clinical Program

Many experiencing the recent “great recession” in the United States have faced unemployment and economic difficulties. Yet sparse literature regarding how to be of assistance in working with clientele facing such issues exists. In this qualitative study, data from 16 marriage and family therapy trainees regarding their perceptions after participating in a “Counseling the Unemployed” program was attained. From the participants’ experiences, four themes emerged, which included: common presenting problems, differences in clinical work with those employed versus those experiencing unemployment, helpful therapeutic experiences when working with unemployed clientele, and some of the unhelpful components in counseling the unemployed.

Training Considerations for MFTs in Couple and Financial Counseling

Evidence suggests that many couples attending marital therapy report that financial concerns have a significant impact on their distress. Despite the complaint, many Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) training programs do not offer courses that teach therapists how to properly address financial concerns as a part of their training or curriculum, leaving many practitioners unaware of the processes associated with remediating the distress. The authors address the concepts of financial literacy and financial problems, and suggest a training curriculum to guide therapists in decisions about treating financial concerns for couples. Suggestions of future research and core competencies are discussed.

Making Meaning

The reflecting team (RT) process was once a common practice in couple and family therapy training programs. This qualitative case study utilized the interview process to gain understanding about a couple’s perspective of the RT process. Categories constructed included (a) characteristics of the RT and (b) reactions to reflections. These findings underscore the need for additional research that specifically addresses these themes and aims to help counselor educators and counselors in training better understand and serve their clients. While this study supports many of the previous research findings, it adds the elements of encouraging listening, fostering hope, and facilitating engagement in the reflective process.

Change Factors in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: A Review of the Salamanca Studies

The Salamanca research team has conducted a number of language-oriented studies within a solution-focused family therapy practice and training unit. Two outcome studies demonstrated considerable success at termination and on follow-up, including how clients talked about their problem in the first versus final sessions. Other studies were process-outcome designs, linking specific communicative practices within a session to outcomes. These practices included negotiating goals, discussing pre-treatment changes, seeking and amplifying the details of improvements, giving clients credit for their improvements, continually scaling clients' progress, and avoiding conflictive interactions. Results confirmed their potential value for reducing dropout, increasing compliance with homework tasks, and improving outcomes at termination. The results of this ongoing research have direct implications into practice and training.

Impact of Fees Among Low-Income Clients in a Training Clinic

Many therapists believe clients must pay a fee in order for therapy to be effective. This study conducted a review of 1,125 client records in a southeastern university’s marriage and family therapy training clinic to determine how paying fees impacted therapy attendance and outcomes. The results indicated that the amount of fee paid did not predict therapy attendance or outcomes. These findings, consistent with previous research, suggest that fee payment has limited impact on achievement of therapeutic gains.

Training across the Pacific: Women Create an International Family Therapy Program

This article describes the process of organizing a program of professional training for family psychotherapists in Vladivostok (in the Russian Far East region). The program includes only women—as organizers, teachers, and students. The project, supported by California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, is in its developmental stage, and is expected to lead to an institutional training or exchange program. This article presents the autobiographical reflections of a bicultural faculty member and her Russian colleagues on the experience of organizing family therapy training cross-culturally and internationally. Social and cultural factors vital for effective international work are identified.

A Profile of Chinese Family Therapists

It is helpful for professional organizations, policy makers and regulators, third-party payers, and clients to have access to empirical data about family therapists and the practice of family therapy. Nevertheless, there is no such data available in China. This study attempts to fill this gap by profiling Chinese family therapists. A questionnaire was designed and delivered to family therapists and trainees. A total of 117 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The findings show that the majority of Chinese family therapists are female, in the age range of 31–40 years, hold master’s degrees, and attend continuous training programs that last 20–40 days over 2–3 years and short-term workshops for family therapy training. They are mainly motivated by the need for personal growth in their career choice. Most of them work in the institutional setting. They have worked in the counseling field for 6.6 years on average, and they have practiced family therapy for an average of 3.4 years. They perform counseling for 9.2 h per week, and 4 h involve working with families. They received an average of 30.6 h of family therapy supervision in the past year. They mainly see individuals and families with adolescents, and their approach is eclectic. This paper compares the findings in China with findings from North America, discusses possible reasons for differences in the findings, and provides suggestions for future development and studies of family therapy in China.

A Cross-National Study of Family Therapy Training: A Collaborative Pilot Project

We examine family therapy training from the perspective of a sample of 99 family therapists from the United States and another 101 from a total of six countries (Colombia, India, Iran, Indonesia, the Philippines, and two regions of China, mainland China and Taiwan). We compared the responses of the United States sample to that of the other countries, both individually (for trends) and as a combined group. We found differences in training experiences both within and between countries, and discuss the implications of our findings for the continued development of family therapy training and the professionalization of the field in the countries studied.

Marriage and Family Training Programs and Their Integration of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identities

This study assessed the current climate of marriage and family therapy (MFT) training programs concerning the integration of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) identities and the creation of inclusive training environments by surveying MFT core faculty members (n = 56) on their programs’ policies, curriculum, clinic procedures, and overall training in this area. Results showed that while many faculty members believed their program does a good job integrating LGB identities and training students for work with LGB clients, many indicated there are still areas in need of improvement. Recommendations for these improvements center on increasing inclusiveness and affirmations of LGB identities at the program environment level.

Teaching, Training and Supervision in Family Therapy

Teaching, Training and Supervision in Family Therapy

Developing Family Therapy Skills on a Shoe String Budget: A Peer Supervision and Training Approach

Family therapy skills are an essential tool when working with young children and their families, yet accessing family therapy training and supervision in workplace settings has become more difficult. Skills enhancement may be obtained through formal training in accredited courses, a costly undertaking, in which clinicians most often carry the entire cost for the training. In this paper, we propose that specific family therapy skills relevant to working with families of young children can be developed within a peer group format. The peer training described in this paper is extremely cost effective, easy to set up, specifically tailored to our unique training needs and the characteristics of the population of families we are working with. Further, the training allows us to develop fresh and creative ways of skills acquisition, our own ‘curriculum’, with flexible use of training techniques, depending on our particular needs at a given time. We conclude with some of the disadvantages of the model and propose ideas for future development.

Finding Your Cadence: Introducing the Dynamic Developmental Framework of Supervision

Supervision is a critical aspect of family therapy training. Previous literature has focused on applying therapy models to the process of supervision. Less emphasis has been given to the vital ingredients that make up the supervision system. The supervision system (SVS), the core of our approach, refers to the relationship between the supervisor and the supervisee. While such a relational system is informed by cultural, social, economic, and personal variables, we emphasize seven pivot points for this relationship: power, trust, communication, respect, flexibility, creativity, and self-of-the-supervisee. Using case illustrations, we explore how these seven pivot points can be used to adapt to the developmental level of the supervisee in a process that we introduce as the dynamic developmental framework of supervision. Last, we provide a supervision rating scale to help supervisees explore their supervision system in practice.

The path towards a professional identity: An IPA study of Greek family therapy trainees

Objective: Contemporary psychotherapy research has focused mainly on practitioners' training and education. The impact of training on professional development and the application of therapeutic skills have been the primary foci of the empirical literature. The aim of this paper is to present the experiences of seven family therapy trainees regarding their personal paths toward the development of professional identity as they underwent training in systemic psychotherapy. Method: In‐depth interviews were conducted and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results & Conclusions: Seven themes were identified: The Quest, Developing by Relating, Learnings, Personification of Training, Use of Self, Self‐Care and Empowerment, and Reflecting on the Role of the Therapist. The findings are discussed with regard to the development of the ‘therapist as a person’, gaining acknowledgement and autonomy, and the development of a community of therapeutic practice.