Marriage
    and Family

... research resources for counselling students

Web Destinations

Key Sites for Practitioners

Ackerman Institute for the Family
The Ackerman Institute for the Family is a not-for-profit agency devoted to the treatment and study of families and to the training of family therapists. They offer workshops and training programs for professionals and offer clinical services to members. There are a few videotapes to order, and one of the staff members posts a general article for consumers. Staff includes Peggy Papp, Olga Silverstein, and others.

149 East 78th Street, New York, NY 10021
Telephone: (212) 879-4900
Fax: (212) 744-0206
http://www.ackerman.org

The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
Professional organization website that provides information for both the public and professionals. Resources for practitioners, legal and ethical information, conferences, and membership are included.
http://www.aamft.org

American Family Therapy Academy
Perhaps the oldest family therapy organization, it has always included a strong psychiatric membership. AFTA holds a yearly conference. It publishes a newsletter each quarter and provides opportunities for networking.

American Family Therapy Academy, Inc.
1608 20th Street, NW, 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20009
http://afta.org/index.htm

Coalition for Marriage, Family, and Couples Education (Smart Marriages)
The CMFCE (Coalition for Marriage, Family, and Couples Education) site provides articles and information, a directory of classes, workshop information, and more to teach how successful couples handle differences in ways conducive to a happy marriage. The organization holds a well-organized yearly conference. http://www.smartmarriages.com

Emotion-Focused Therapy
This site is hosted by Les Greenberg, who along with Sue Johnson founded emotion-focused therapy. This site offers an overview of emotion-focused therapy (EFT), training opportunities, and links regarding EFT, such as http://www.eft.ca, which is Sue Johnson's site.
http://www.emotionfocusedtherapy.org

International Association for Relationship Research
The International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) was founded in 2002 as a result of the merger of the International Network on Personal Relationships (INPR) and the International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships (ISSPR). The IARR sponsors two journals, Personal Relationships and The Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. They also sponsor a book series, Advances in Personal Relationships, a newsletter, and a biennial conference, along with annual workshops and trainings.
http://www.iarr.org/

International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors
IAMFC is an affiliate of the American Counseling Association. It publishes the highly regarded Family Journal. In addition, IAMFC disseminates publications and information to promote excellence among marriage and family counselors. The site includes organizational information, a newsletter, and resources.
http://www.iamfc.com

International Family Therapy Association
The International Family Therapy Association (IFTA) is an organization that promotes international practitioners collaborating in the field of marriage and family therapy. They hold an annual conference and publish The Journal of Family Psychotherapy.
http://www.ifta-familytherapy.org

Narrative Therapy Site
A quote from this website says, "This page focuses upon narrative perspectives in psychology and allied disciplines and provides an interdisciplinary guide to bibliographical and Internet resources concerned with 'the storied nature of human conduct.'" It appears to be the premier site for resources on narrative therapy.
http://web.lemoyne.edu/~hevern/narpsych.html

National Council on Family Relationships
NCFR publishes two scholarly journals: Journal of Marriage and the Family and Family Relations, as well as books, audio/video tapes, and learning tools. NCFR sponsors an annual research conference. NCFR focuses on family life education, a field dedicated to improving family relationships through an educational process. They certify family life educators.
http://www.ncfr.org/

Key Sites for Client Information

Divorce Support
The Divorce Support webpage is a comprehensive site for divorce information. Files included cover divorce recovery, how to divorce as friends, child support, and visitation. There are also sections on counseling issues, grandparent issues, and financial considerations. In addition, you can review divorce laws and procedures state-by-state.
http://www.divorcesupport.com/

Frequently Asked Questions About Marriage and Family Therapy
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy answers questions for clients.
http://www.aamft.org

The Gottman Institute
The Gottman Institute was founded by John and Julie Gottman. The site offers self-help tips, research, and training opportunities for both the public and professionals.
http://www.gottman.com

The Whole Family Center
The Whole Family Center website is an award-winning site that provides marriage, parenting, and teen sections. Features include a message board, a substance abuse center, and advice for parents.
http://www.wholefamily.com

Stepfamily Foundation
The Stepfamily Foundation provides access to certified stepfamily counselors, books, information, and even a Second Wives Club. The foundation, headed by Jeannette Lofas, has been given a three star rating by the Mental Health Net Awards. This is a comprehensive site that includes a message board for professionals.
http://www.stepfamily.org/

Annotated Bibliography

Foundational Works

Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind. New York: Ballantine.
Bateson, an anthropologist, brought the notion of cybernetics to the marriage and family therapy field. Bateson and colleagues had introduced the notion of double bind communication in a 1956 article dealing with schizophrenia. This is a collection of articles that describe his investigations in several fields, including family therapy. Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Jason Aronson. The Bowen theory is described in this book, including the key concept of differentiation as a goal of family therapy. It is a collection of his papers and clinical research. Bowen's transgenerational theories influenced Framo and other foundational thinkers. One article in the book describes Bowen's own struggles to differentiate from his family of origin.

Haley, J. (1987). Problem-solving therapy. New York: HarperColophon.
Milton Erickson, Bateson, and others influenced Haley's work at MRI. Problem-solving Therapy is an original work that outlines the basis for strategic therapy and forms the foundation upon which brief therapy was later built.

Hare-Mustin, R. T. (1978). A feminist approach to family therapy. Family Process, 17, 181-194.
This article is thought to be the first to suggest the importance of gender in family organization and family therapy. Specifically, it posits that family therapy may actually be promoting traditional gender roles to the detriment of members and the family as a whole.

Jackson, D. D. (1957). The question of family homeostasis. Psychiatric Quarterly Supplement, 31, 71-90.
Jackson's landmark article proposes that families seek homeostasis. Jackson introduced the concept because it aided in the understanding of how families remain stable and deal with stress.

Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Here in Minuchin's early work we see the beginnings of structural family therapy. Structural therapy looks at family relationships in terms of boundaries, power, and alignment. It is a present-oriented therapy in which the therapist joins with the family in order to influence it. One premise of the theory is that healthy families have clearly defined generational boundaries with parents in the executive branch. Therapy involves changing boundaries and alignments and redistributing power.

Minuchin, S. (1981). Family therapy techniques. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
This book expands on Minuchin's early work in structural family therapy. It offers techniques to coincide with structural family therapy.

Satir, V. (1983). Conjoint family therapy. Paolo Alto, CA: Science and Behavior Books.
Satir was one of the original communication theorists in family therapy, but later she developed her own distinct ideas and style. This book was written in outline form; it does not convey as much as a videotape of her work. Still, it was one of the most influential early works in family therapy. It addresses normal family issues, including mate selection, stresses of family life, communication problems, and solutions within the family.

Selvini Palazzoli, M., Boscolo, L., Cecchin, G., & Prata, G. (1980). Paradox and counterparadox. New York: Jason Aronson.
The original Milan team describes two of their signature methods, the team approach, during which the therapist consults with an observing group of therapists, and the extensive use of paradox. Although Selvini Palazzoli has left the use of paradox behind, this book focused interest on teams and nonlinear approaches to family therapy.

Key Current Works

Andersen, T. (1987). The reflecting team: Dialogue and meta-dialogue in clinical work. Family Process, 26, 415-428.
Besides the fact that this article initiated a worldwide interest in using reflecting teams in practice and family therapy training, it furthered the constructivist thinking that was emerging in family therapy. The article describes the theory but also how to begin using reflecting teams.

Datillio, F. M., & Padesky, C. A. (1990). Cognitive therapy with couples. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resources Exchange.
Cognitive therapy is applied to couples counseling in a small "how-to" book. There is a short introduction to cognitive therapy, but the focus is on identifying and changing distorted beliefs, unrealistic expectations, and mistattributions. Besides describing a wide variety of techniques, the authors discuss handling crisis situations such as anger, infidelity, cultural issues, and psychiatric disorders.

de Shazer, S., Berg, I. K., Lipchik, E., & Nunnally, E. (1986). Brief therapy: Focused solution development. Family Process. 25(2), 207-221.
Describes a brief therapy center established in 1978, listing the main principles of the work, giving case examples, and outlining the format used. Evaluation of the program, based on a comparison between what therapy proposes to do and its observable results, suggests that this kind of therapy is effective within a short period of time and a limited number of sessions.

Framo, J. (1992). Family of origin therapy: An intergenerational approach. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Framo's approach is unique because he likes to work with an individual and his or her family of origin rather than the nuclear family alone. He argues that unfinished business with one's parents and family-of-origin influence current relationships. Framo believes that one can and should go home again and heal past hurts in order to deal with present relationships. The book has excellent case examples. Framo describes his own life in the final chapter.

Greenberg, L. S. (2002). Emotion-focused therapy: Coaching clients to work through their feelings. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
This is the foundational work that led to the work of emotion-focused couples therapy. Les Greenberg and Sue Johnson are the founders of this therapeutic approach. Emotion-focused therapy, or EFT, is the second largest empirically based theoretical model to date.

Gurman, A. S., & Jacobson, N. S. (Eds.). (2002). Clinical handbook of couple therapy (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
Important couples therapists write the chapters in this edited book. There are sections on the major theories of family therapy and others that address problems that couples face. There is in-depth coverage of communication and some specific mental disorders. There are also chapters on specific topics such as same-sex couples and group therapy with couples. Although there is no consistency in the book as a whole, the writers of these chapters are experts in that area and provide practical as well as updated research information.

Hoffman, L. (1990). Constructing realities: An art of lenses. Family Process, 29, 1-12.
In 1990, Hoffman wrote this article. It contrasts with her 1981 Foundations of Family Therapy, which describes the history, theory, and practice of systemic therapy. The article brings up a difficult topic for family therapists: the movement away from a systems approach to a social constructionist point of view. Hoffman describes her own change to the latter viewpoint and also argues for the importance of gender issues in family therapy.

Johnson, S., & Greenberg, L. (1988). Emotion-focused therapy for couples. New York: Guilford.
This book continues with the work of emotion-focused therapy, or EFT. The authors are the founders of this theory and therapy technique.

Madanes, C. (1981). Strategic family therapy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Jay Haley and Chloe Madanes founded strategic family therapy. One of Madanes's contributions was the implementation of creative methods. For example, she describes her own technique of "therapeutic pretending." Her ideas about symptoms as metaphors are explained.

McGoldrick, M., & Gerson, R. (1999). Genogram assessment and intervention. New York: Norton.
Genograms are commonly used in family therapy to provide a simple graphic representation of family relationships. McGoldrick and Gerson's system has become a standard. Besides clearly describing the method for drawing and interpreting genograms, they include a number of historical genograms that clearly demonstrate the insight the tool can bring. Among the famous families pictured are the Freuds, the Fondas, and the Kennedys.

Piercy, F. P., Sprenkle, D. H., & Wetchler, J. L. (1996). Family therapy sourcebook (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
A number of associates assisted the primary authors in writing each of the 15 chapters. Each takes an area of family therapy such as behavior therapy, gender, cultural issues, or constructive therapies and gives a brief history, key concepts, and clinical skills and tools. One of the most impressive aspects of the book is that each chapter has an extensive Annotated Bibliography , as well as key references.

Pipher, M. B., (1997). The shelter of each other: Rebuilding our families (2nd ed.). New York: Ballantine.
In this careful investigation of family structure, both traditional and modern, Pipher tells the stories of families facing desperate realities. She draws a clear path to the strength and energy at the core of family life.

Tomm, K. (1987). Interactive interviewing: Part I. Family Process, 26, 167-183.
Karl Tomm's article and its successor, Part II, focuses on the use of questions in family therapy. Tomm makes a distinction between information-oriented questions and influencing questions. Such questions asked by therapists can also be systemically oriented or linear in terms of the underlying philosophy of causality. Tomm makes a strong case that different questions lead to different outcomes in the relationship and in the ability of the client to grow.

White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative means to therapeutic ends. New York: Norton.
This is the original work on narrative therapy, arguably the most innovative and influential new theory. The concept of externalization is described as a method for deconstructing nontherapeutic stories. The authors use letters and other writing as examples.

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