Object Relations Family Therapy Research Articles

Islamizing Object Relations Family Therapy

Rooted in psychoanalysis, the most controversial counselling and psychotherapy theory, Object Relations Family Therapy (ORFT) is catching up among the Western nations. However, among Muslim-majority countries, such as Malaysia, ORFT is almost nonexistence. Therefore, the aims of this paper is twofold - firstly, to summarize the Object Relations Family Therapy (ORFT); and secondly to Islamize the ORFT so as to cater Muslim clients. ORFT comes into existence from contributions of various prominent theorists’ works on mother-child relationship. The central thesis of ORFT are that healthy family development is due to the object (mother) who is “consistently available” for the subject (child) and dysfunctional family development is due to maternal deprivation. The main technique is transference and counter-transference. Similarly, Islam views a mother as the nucleus of a family, especially during the lactation period for a child. Transference and counter transference is paralleled to qudwah hasanah (role model) techniques in the Islamic counselling. Despite the transferring of client’s negative emotion towards a counsellor, the counsellor remains calm and consistently available for the client. As a result, a new positive mental image of human-human relationship (habluminannas) replaces the old image of insecure relationship. Additionally, for Muslims, the ultimate goal of counselling is to help the clients to have a united family that consistently (istiqamah) in habluminAllah. Ultimately, mutual loving relationship is formed, Allah is well pleased with them, and they are well pleased with Him (Al-Bayyina: 8).

The Impact of Chinese Cultures on a Marital Relationship

ABSTRACTTo illustrate the impact of culture on intimate relationships, we will describe couple therapy with a Chinese couple. This treatment was one element in our teaching for students, clinicians, and trainers in China, where we taught workshops in Object Relations Couple and Family Therapy and a continuous course in Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy at the invitation of Professor Shi Qijia at the Wuhan Hospital for Psychotherapy and Dr Fang Xin of Peking University in Beijing, respectively. Our hosts arranged for serial translation of our concepts, slides, videos, and group discussions – and of therapeutic consultations with various couples, to be observed live or on video feed to an audience of 70 mental health students, clinicians, and trainers. We taught our Chinese participants the Western view of relationships and unconscious dynamics. They taught us to understand couples’ verbal expressions, imagery, and culture.The couple we will present attended for a series of five couple therapy sessions. With Gao Jun, our translator, seated between us, and the couple across from us, we made a semicircle facing the audience and used microphones so that we could be heard. It was unfamiliar, somewhat uncomfortable for all of us, and the necessity for serial translation slowed down the treatment, but it provided some insight for the couple, a learning experience for the audience, and a powerful lesson about intimate relationships in China for us. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Play and very young children in object relations family therapy

AbstractThe author encourages family therapists to include young children in their family therapy sessions so that they can achieve whole family understanding. For adult family therapists who want to learn how to include children, and individual child therapists who want to work with groups, the author presents a brief theory of play as well as an overview of object relations theory and its application to the family as a group. She provides many illustrations of the effective use of play as a mode of communication in family therapy with babies, latency‐age children and adolescents, and concludes that play and fun support learning and growth of children and their families. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Extending fairbairn and Sutherland's socio‐intrapsychic model to assessment and treatment of a stepfamily

AbstractThe author describes an unusual adaptation of object relations family therapy tailored to the requirements of symptomatic adult children, their long‐divorced parents and their stepfamilies. He worked with the children on understanding their disturbed relationship as an identification with the pre‐divorce parental couple. He brought the divorced couple together for sessions to rework their break‐up and repair trauma to their children. He had sessions with the current stepfamily members. The design of the treatment called for moving gradually and thoroughly, back and forth, from past to present, interpersonal to intrapsychic, individual to group, and family to stepfamily. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Textbook of Family and Couples Therapy: Clinical Applications

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book Forum: TextbooksFull AccessTextbook of Family and Couples Therapy: Clinical ApplicationsSAMUEL SLIPP, M.D., SAMUEL SLIPPSearch for more papers by this author, M.D., New York, N.Y.Published Online:1 Apr 2004https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.161.4.774AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail This edited book attempts to provide a broad overview of family and couples therapy that covers the wide spectrum of theoretical approaches. Although this is laudable, it provides us with too many appetizers and an unsatisfying meal. The field of family and couples therapy is difficult to cover because, in the absence of any encompassing theoretical framework, a patchwork of conflicting theories attached to charismatic clinicians has developed. In addition, family therapy began during a period of disillusionment with established authority following World War II and the Vietnam War and relied on philosophical underpinnings without much scientific validation.Dr. Sholevar says that one can be eclectic and combine all of the family therapy approaches, which is clearly clinically incompatible. He starts this book by stating that family therapy is “an umbrella term for a number of clinical practices based on the notion that psychopathology resides in the family system rather than individuals.” This statement denying pathology in the patient reflects the perspective of many systemic family therapists. In the concluding chapter, however, he agrees with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill that schizophrenia is a biological illness and “there is no clear evidence that some of the stressful family interactional patterns such as communication deviance, expressed emotion, and affective style predated or followed the symptomatic behavior in the schizophrenic patients.” These polarized statements contradict one another, and both are inaccurate. The long-term Finnish Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia by Pekka Tienari et al. (1) indicated that both a youngster’s genetic loading and a family with high communication deviance are necessary for schizophrenia to develop. We also know from neurobiology research that genes are strongly influenced by the environment; both are important.Chapter 3, “Constructing Therapy” by Scott Browning and Robert-Jay Green, mentions the work of Mara Selvini Palazzoli on systemic family therapy. At a conference in Heidelberg in the 1980s, Dr. Selvini Palazzoli stated that she would drop a bomb: that schizophrenia could be cured by the parents leaving a note on the kitchen table that they were going out. Unfortunately, the bomb exploded in her hands, destroying her credibility. No critique of this event is presented in this book. In addition, the book states that Gregory Bateson rejected the incorporation of his ideas by systemic family therapists because he remained an anthropologist. Bateson was one of my teachers, and he objected to therapists, some of whom were not trained in mental health, taking a controlling stance to effect change. There are some other areas of misinformation. Object relations family therapy was not developed in England, as stated in this book, but in the United States. I published the first book on object relations family therapy (2), and others later expanded this approach. In addition, Stephen Fleck’s name is misspelled as Flick. Finally, in chapter 32, “Family Intervention With Incest,” the editors say that the therapist should not believe patients with borderline personality concerning incest because of the patients’ cognitive distortion. Clearly, the therapist cannot discount the believability of the patient. In fact, many clinicians find that borderline personality disorder is frequently attributable to incest and consider it a posttraumatic stress disorder from childhood (2, 3).Despite these criticisms, there are many excellent chapters that are accurate and deal with their topics in depth. These include, among others, “Family Life Cycle” by Joan Zilbach, “Diagnosis of Family Relational Disorders” by David Miklowitz and John Clarkin, and “The State of Family Therapy Research: A Positive Prognosis” by John Clarkin, Daniel Carpenter, and Eric Fertuck. Unfortunately, the book lacks sufficient depth and does not fulfill its mission of providing an accurate and consistent account of family or couples therapy that is helpful to clinicians.Edited by G. Pirooz Sholevar, M.D., with Linda D. Schwoeri, Ph.D. Arlington, Va., American Psychiatric Publishing, 2003, 948 pp., $59.00.

Family Consulting: A New Role for Therapists

A new model for psychological practice entitled, "Family Consulting" is proposed. It is defined as a long-term, intermittent approach to working with families based on a developmental/non-pathological perspective. The specific format of intervention is described in detail. A brief review of the life-span perspective of development, the family life-cycle literature, and object relations family therapy, which serve as the building blocks of the model is provided. The role that family consulting can play in today's managed mental health care environment is discussed.

A Psychoanalytical Approach to Integrating Family and Individual Therapy in the Treatment of Adolescents

An integrated model of object relations family therapy and a self psychology-oriented individual therapy is presented in the form of a case study of an adolescent. The therapy strives to create and negotiate a balance between deconstructing the family's defensive delineations of the adolescent and helping him to form new building blocks of self-representation. The integrated model both highlights and adeptly addresses the unavoidable adolescent issue of conflicted loyalty between self and family as reflected in the adolescent's internal and external psychological world.

Case Report: Object Relations Family Therapy as a Model for Genetic Counseling

Object relations family therapy (ORFT) is a psychoanalytically based approach for the treatment of couples and families which stresses the importance of past relationships. The therapist assumes a parentlike role and provides a holding environment in which clients can explore unconscious motivations. This paper will discuss the applicability of this method to genetic counseling. The case of a couple seen for recurrent trisomies will be presented and used as an example to discuss how ORFT might serve as a framework in a genetic counseling session.

Object Relations Family Therapy: Articulating the Inchoate

In recent years there has been a renewed interest in psychodynamic ideas within the family therapy literature. While some authors have explored the usefulness of psychodynamic concepts in the systemic context (Byng‐Hall, 1995; Flaskas, 1993, 1996; Luepnitz, 1988, 1997), others have argued that psychodynamic models of family therapy should be given more credence in systemic work with families (Guttman, 1991). This paper describes Object Relations Family Therapy (ORFT), a psychoanalytic model of family therapy, in plain English in order to minimise the obscurity of some of the existing terminology and to emphasise the utility of more contemporary formulations. ORFT addresses the interface between psychoanalytic and systemic theories. It offers a way of conceptualising complex family dynamics at both the interpersonal and intrapsychic levels. It also integrates an understanding of nonverbal, unstated and often implicit processes in its formulation of problem development. The unique contribution of ORFT is elaborated using a clinical example.

Comprehensive Marital Therapy

ABSTRACT This article approaches couple therapy from several theoretical frameworks in that object relations family therapy and cognitive-behavioral marital counseling are integrated into a basic systemic orientation. The paper focuses on the three stages of couple therapy, the early, middle, and later stages, and includes a description of specific therapeutic goals relevant to each stage.

Object relations family therapy as a model for practice

This paper provides an introduction to a new approach to the practice of family therapy called object relations family therapy. It is viewed as especially appropriate for social work practice due to its ability to combine individual, couple and family modalities. In addition it permits work on multiple levels of latent and manifest content. Its derivatives in the work of the objects relations theorists, Klein, Fairbairn, Guntrip, Winnicott and Bion are described. Illustrative case examples are provided.

Projective identification: Pros and cons. An essay review of Samuel Slipp,the technique and practice of Object Relations Family Therapy

This paper is a critical appraisal of Samuel Slipp's book on Object Relations Family Therapy (ORFT), which uses the concept of projective identification as a central thesis in explaining interpersonal influence. Slipp's book is praised for its excellent review of the literature of object relations theory and the major schools of family therapy, classification of families according to complementary projections, and revealing case material. Interpersonal-Systemic (I-S) theory and methodology with its use of the concepts of empathy, interpersonal influences, search for intimacy, maintenance of self-esteem, selective inattention, and reflected appraisals is offered as an alternative view to projective identification.

Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy. Edited by Jill Savege Scharff. Northwale, N.J.: Aronson, 1989, 488 pp., $50.00.

Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy. Edited by Jill Savege Scharff. Northwale, N.J.: Aronson, 1989, 488 pp., $50.00.

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article:Becvar, Dorothy S. & Becvar, Raphael J. Family therapy: A systemic integration.Clarkin, John F., Haas, Gretchen L., Glick, Ira (Eds.). Affective disorders and the family: Assessment and treatment.Robin, A. L. & Foster, S. L. Negotiating parent‐adolescent conflict: A behavioral family systems approach.Scharff, Jill Savege (Ed.). Foundations of object relations family therapy.

Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy

Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy

Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy. Edited by Jill Savage Scharff. London: Jason Aronson. 1989. 488 pp.

Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy. Edited by Jill Savage Scharff. London: Jason Aronson. 1989. 488 pp.

Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy. Edited by Jill Savage Scharff. London: Jason Aronson. 1989. 488 pp.

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Review of Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy.

Review of Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy.

Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewNo AccessFoundations of Object Relations Family TherapyRobert D. Strochak, Ph.D.Robert D. StrochakWarminster, PASearch for more papers by this author, Ph.D.Published Online:30 Apr 2018https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1990.44.1.130AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail "Foundations of Object Relations Family Therapy." American Journal of Psychotherapy, 44(1), pp. 130–131 Access content To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access. Personal login Institutional Login Sign in via OpenAthens Purchase Save for later Item saved, go to cart PPV Articles - APT - American Journal of Psychotherapy $35.00 Add to cart PPV Articles - APT - American Journal of Psychotherapy Checkout Please login/register if you wish to pair your device and check access availability. Not a subscriber? Subscribe Now / Learn More PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5 library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development. Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.). FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited byNone Volume 44Issue 1 1990, pp. 1–156Pages 130-131 Metrics PDF download History Published online 30 April 2018 Published in print 1 January 1990

Book reviews

Book reviewed in this article:The Child's World of Illness: The Development of Health and Illness Behaviour. By S. R. Wilkinson.Developing Ericksonian Therapy: State of the Art. Edited by J. K. Zeig & S. R. Lankton.Brief Psychotherapies: Changing Frames of Mind. By T. H. Peake, C. M. Borduin & R. P. Archer.Clues: Investigating Solutions in Brief Therapy. By S. de Shazer.Group Therapy in Britain. Edited by M. Aveline & W. Dryden.The Technique and Practice of Object Relations Family Therapy. By S. Slipp.A Safer Death: Multidisciplinary Aspects of Terminal Care. Edited by A. & S. Gilmore.Infertility Services ‐ A Desperate Case. By N. Pfeffer & A. Quick.AIDS: A Guide to Clinical Counselling. By R. Miller & R. Bor.The Macmillan Dictionary of Psychology. By S. Sutherland.Healing the Incest Wound: Adult Survivors in Therapy. By C. A. Courtois.The Healing Brain: A Radical New Approach to Health Care. By R. Ornstein & D. Sobel.Developments in Rational‐Emotive Therapy. Edited by W. Dryden & P. Trower.Infertility and Pregnancy Loss. By C. H. Shapiro.Social Fabrics of the Mind. Edited by M. R. A. Chance.Handbook of Life Stress, Cognition and Health. Edited by S. Fisher & J. Reason.