Critiquing the New Epistemologies: Towardminimum Requirements for a Scientific Theory of Family Therapy*

Shields, Cleveland G.

doi:10.1111/j.1752-0606.1986.tb00668.x

Cited by 25 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…According to Gurman et al (1986), “the induction in family members of a set of perceptions and attributions about their presenting problems that differ from those they initially show” and “the transformation of the family's view of their problem, where clinically appropriate, from individualistic to interactional or systemic” (p. 614) are common features in family therapy. However, clear statements like these about family therapy processes have not been examined empirically (Shields, 1986). In this, the first events‐based research on cognitive change in constructivist family therapy, an expert theorist, a clinical staff, and a team of researchers worked together to extend our understanding of the successful resolution of a common clinical dilemma.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transforming Narratives: A Change Event in Constructivist Family Therapy

Coulehan¹,

Friedlander

Heatherington

1998

Family Process

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One important clinical task in family therapy involves transforming the client's construction of the presenting problem from an individual, intrapersonal view to an interpersonal, relational, or systemic one (Sluzki, 1992). To study the transformation process in initial sessions, we sampled 8 families in which the referring parent requested help for a child's problem. The 8 therapists, trained and experienced in Sluzki's (1992) narrative approach, attempted to facilitate a transformation in the parents' initial construction of the problem. In 4 sessions, the transformation was independently judged to be successful by the therapist and observers, while in 4 other sessions the transformation was judged to be unsuccessful. Videotapes of the 8 interviews were analyzed qualitatively, and the parents' verbatim descriptions of the problem were coded using the Cognitive Constructions Coding System (Friedlander, 1995). We compared the successful and the unsuccessful sessions and developed a conceptual model of the successful transformation process that included client performances as well as therapist operations (Greenberg, 1986). While many elements in the model were consistent with Sluzki's (1992) "blue-print" transformation, several new elements were added. Practical implications are described, along with limitations and recommendations for future research.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transforming Narratives: A Change Event in Constructivist Family Therapy

Coulehan¹,

Friedlander

Heatherington

1998

Family Process

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“…A number of family therapists claim that quantitative empirical research is impossible or meaningless with families (Allman, 1990;Auerswald, 1987;Colapinto, 1979;Dell, 1991;T o m , 1983,1986; others have offered qualitative and other methodologies as alternatives (Atkinson, Heath, & Chenail, 1991;Tyndale, 1990). Several authors (e.g., Coyne, 1982;Coyne & Ransom, 1982;Gurman, 1983aGurman, , 1983bKniskern, 1983;Shields, 1986aShields, , 1986b have criticized the assumptions about systems theory and research underlying the arguments of those who eschew quantitative research. Liddle (1991) makes the case that without a strong empirical basis, "family therapy still works too much at the margins" (p 15; italics added).…”

Section: Research Probleinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Marginalization of Family Therapy: A Historical and Continuing Problem

Shields

Wynne

McDaniel

et al. 1994

J Marital Family Therapy

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Family therapy, and marital and family problems, are marginalized in the larger fields of mental andphysical health care, which is a misfortune both forfamily therapy and for other mental health professions. The early family therapists, who had multidisciplinary backgrounds, attempted to establish a new, nondisciplinaryparadigm and also tried to expand the perspectives of the more traditional mental health disciplines. More recently, family therapists have exerted greater efforts to establish marriage andfamily therapy as a differentiated, autonomous profession. These alternatives each involve dilemmas for the family therapy field. The positive side of becoming a distinctive profession is greater internal strength and clear professional identity; the downside is the threat of increased marginalization in relation to other professions, a tendency toward intellectual isolation, and hence restricted opportunities for invigorating new challenges. Family therapy now needs to develop new modes of interchange, collaboration, and selective integration with other health care professions. Such interchange will be beneficial both to family therapy and to other professions.

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“…The subjective, unquantifiable, mysterious aspects of human life often were dismissed as nonessential distracters from the truth (Boyd, 1996). Thus/ religion and spirituality were ignored or criticized by psychology and the modernist epistemological stance (Bianchi, 1989;Prest & Keller, 1993;Reisner & Lawson, 1992;Shields, 1986). Counselors trained with this mindset learned to minimize or discard the role of religion and spirituality in clients' meaning systems.…”

Section: Religion and Spirituality As Nonscientificmentioning

confidence: 99%