Following the format put forth by Imber‐Black and Roberts, I examine daily rituals, family traditions, holidays, and life cycle rituals during the pandemic of COVID‐19. Marked by symbols capable of carrying multiple meanings, symbolic actions, special time and special place, and newly invented and adapted rituals are illustrated through stories of couples, families, and communities.

This article describes a method for doing therapy that uses multisystemic themes that combine meaning and action to facilitate therapeutic change. By identifying central themes that operate at the individual, dyadic, triadic, whole family, intergenerational, and sociocultural levels, the therapist is able to develop effective interview questions and design useful interventions. In this method, behavioral symptoms are framed as a current manifestation of an overarching theme. This orientation enables family and therapist to de-pathologize symptoms and work collaboratively toward change. Case examples from a wide variety of families with differing presenting problems, interactional patterns, three-generational histories, and cultural backgrounds, illustrate the efficacy of the method.

This article explores secrecy and openness in the context of chronic and life-shortening illness. Illustrated by clinical work with families at the Center for Families and Health at the Ackerman Institute for the Family, I examine the impact of secrecy on family relationships, including the serious relational price of silence, the danger to physical and emotional well-being, and the formation of triangles. Through the stories of four families, I demonstrate ways to facilitate greater openness when illness pertains. The benefits to families of being able to speak with candor and authenticity are shown. The article concludes with a range of questions to guide the clinician.

I reflect here on Family Therapy's origins, our present dilemmas, and future possibilities. Using the lens of training new Family Therapists for current public sector domains, I examine our field's strengths, vulnerabilities, and contradictions. I critique the current vogue of model certainty and branding. Our responsibilities to trainees, young practitioners, and the families we serve are highlighted.