Counselors working in the areas of marriage and family counseling and therapy are expected to work effectively with couples and families experiencing a variety of issues and problems. Structural, strategic, and transgenerational family therapists may seem to be operating in similar manners, and it appears that many practicing family therapists go…

Proposes Family Goal Recording as a systemic approach for measuring change in the presenting concerns of couples and families. Describes the procedures for using Family Goal Recording as an outcome measure for family therapy and a device to enhance goal attainment. In addition, the results of an initial study on the reliability and validity of…

Notes that, in last decade, theorists and practitioners have become increasingly optimistic about integrating various components of divergent schools of thought in the area of couples and family therapy. Familiarizes readers with cognitive therapy and proposes it as integrable component with other modalities of treatment when working with couples…

Counselors working with couples who are planning to marry come from a broad array of interdisciplinary backgrounds. The largest portion of this type of counseling is currently provided by clergy. This one volume handbook and training manual for professionals presents a coherent approach for the practice of counseling prior to marriage that draws…

Humans organize into constellations subjective attributes that help them to know themselves. Self-esteem refers only to those aspects of one's self-concept to which an evaluation is assigned. Self-esteem reflects one's sense of personal efficacy and worth. Love has been described as emotional closeness, passion, and decision/commitment; esteem for…

Like a fire out of control, jealousy can reduce a marriage to rubble. It can leave self-esteem ruined. Although oversimplified, the pathologically jealous person regards even slight signs as conclusive evidence of betrayal. Where jealousy arises exclusively within a relationship then a counselor might examine the jealous person's self-concept and…

This paper illustrates the construction, delivery, and processing of therapeutic stimulus metaphors in couple or family therapy. An introduction to the therapeutic metaphor discusses the uses of metaphors in therapy to denote a likeness between a client and another object or person, and to avoid client resistance. The usefulness of metaphors in…

Summarizes problems specific to remarrying families with children including complex kinship networks, ill defined roles, and financial and legal issues. Focuses on the family counselor's involving an attorney in services to remarrying families, with discussions of pre-marital agreements, inventories, living trust, estate planning, post-marital…

This book provides therapists with a theoretical base from which to view the dynamics of couples' relationships and the therapeutic process. The book's eight chapters are organized into three parts: "Adlerian Theory and Process"; "Therapeutic Interventions"; and "Special Issues in Marital Therapy." Chapter 1, Adlerian…

Features an examination of the ethical issues affecting decisions for serving clients when systemic intervention is indicated but critical family members resist engagement. Discussion focuses on conceptual and empirical information concerning engagement for systemic intervention as well as possible solutions to ethical dilemmas that affect…

Describes how family sculpting, grounded in Experiential Family Counseling, can be used as a training technique in marriage and family counselor training programs. Provides detailed guidelines for conducting family sculpting. A case study is included. (Author/NB)

The components of the self system include self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Learning that adds to identity augments self-concept. Learning that leads to self-appraisal relates to self-esteem. Learning that leads to prediction of achievement belongs to self-efficacy. Courage to persist when confronted by a "Gulp!" experience…

This book, written for counselors and other mental health professionals, outlines the stresses and challenges dual career couples face, as well as plans for helping dual career couples learn negotiation, communicaiton, and conflict resolution skills. The book's 12 chapters are organized in 3 parts. Part 1 (chapters 1 to 4), reviews the literature…

This monograph focuses on practical information and offers guidelines for professional counselors who practice marriage and family counseling. It discusses the importance of specialized training for professional counselors to ensure working ethically with couples and families, and it reviews divorce, child custody, and child abuse and neglect,…

The International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC) is an organization dedicated to advancing the practice, training, and research of marriage and family counselors. This chapter presents the IAMFC's code of ethics which promulgates a framework for ethical practice by IAMFC members and is divided into eight sections: client…