As family diversity has increased in recent decades, the profession of marriage and family therapy has struggled to be responsive. The authors review efforts by marriage and family therapists in the past 30 years to incorporate an understanding of diverse families into clinical theory and practice. In addition, the authors examine recent trends in response to family diversity and consider how this may influence future treatment.
The current article seeks to critically examine Maryland's policy of mandatory abuse reporting as it applies to adult female survivors of sexual abuse in therapy. An overview of mandatory reporting legislation in the United States and Maryland is presented. The article addresses the significance of mandatory reporting as a general problem for therapists and their clients, with a focus on the aforementioned population. More specifically, the article seeks to answer the following question: What are the intended and unintended consequences of the policy for individuals and families? Finally, solutions to address the unintended consequences of the policy are offered, as are suggestions for further research to inform the debate.
KEYWORDS behavioral sciences and the law, child sexual abuse, family therapy
STATEMENT OF THE FAMILY PROBLEM IN RELATION TO SOCIETYCurrently in the United States a significant amount of political attention is directed toward the well-being of children. For example, both federal and state legislation have addressed issues of poverty among children, youth violence and delinquency, health insurance coverage for children, as well as many other child-focused issues. Given this current emphasis on children's well-being it is hard to imagine a time when children's issues were not at the
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