Spring 2008: Family Therapy
We are into the Spring semester, which means for me the opportunity to teach Family Therapy and Ethics. Family Therapy introduces various family assessment and interventions and provides students with an overview of the major models of family therapy, such as Bowenian, Experiential, Structural, Strategic, Narrative and so on. Students also complete a family genogram where they map their own family back three generations and learn to interpret the genogram and identify salient themes.This semester we will also read chapters from a book I am completing with a colleague of mine, Dr. James Sells. The book is titled Family Therapies: A Comprehensive Christian Appraisal. This material will form the basis for much of our integration discussion this semester. Each chapter provides an overview of a model of family therapy (e.g., Psychodynamic) followed by a section on Christian critique and engagement. Towards the end of the semester we will read a few chapters on specific issues often addressed in family therapy, such as divorce, remarriage, and blended families.Students will also make a group presentation based upon readings from Ethnicity and Family Therapy by Monica McGoldrick and her colleagues. I have found this to be one of the best resources on culture/ethnicity and family therapy. Preparing for this presentation provides students the opportunity to learn how to take cultural issues into consideration in family therapy case conceptualization and treatment planning.
