Expanding the context of family therapy

From Knowing to Doing: Guidelines for Socioculturally Attuned Family Therapy

“…Family therapists know that individuals and families are intricately connected to larger sociopolitical contexts (e.g., Auerswald, ; Falicov, ; Keeney, ; McGoldrick & Hardy, ; Waldegrave, ). Appeals to expand systemic thinking beyond the family are not new (Hair, Fine, & Ryan, ; Imber‐Black, ; MacKinnon & Miller, ), and there has been increased attention to diversity and social justice issues in the family therapy literature (Kosutic & McDowell, ; Seedall, Holtrop, & Parra‐Cardona, ). Yet despite knowledge that the larger context is important and directly linked to the concerns for which clients seek our help, there are few guidelines for how our clinical interventions can responsibly address them, especially while applying core family therapy concepts and models.…”

Third‐Order Thinking in Family Therapy: Addressing Social Justice Across Family Therapy Practice

“…There have been many other shifts including second-order systems thinking (Anderson & Goolishan, 1992;Hoffman, 1981Hoffman, , 1985Keeney, 1983), the feminist critique (Hair et al, 1996;Hare-Mustin, 1978), and a focus on diversity and social justice (McGoldrick & Hardy, 2008) to name a few. Systems theory and social constructivism were major paradigm shifts in which new ideas flourished.…”

“…Systems theory and social constructivism were major paradigm shifts in which new ideas flourished. There have been many other shifts including second-order systems thinking (Anderson & Goolishan, 1992;Hoffman, 1981Hoffman, , 1985Keeney, 1983), the feminist critique (Hair et al, 1996;Hare-Mustin, 1978), and a focus on diversity and social justice (McGoldrick & Hardy, 2008) to name a few. We suggest that third-order thinking is yet another shift in how we conceptualize problems and engage www.FamilyProcess.org 20 / FAMILY PROCESS families in processes of change.…”

“…Feminist family scholars challenged first-order thinking by pointing out how inequities in societal systems impact family roles and power dynamics (Hair, Fine, & Ryan, 1996;Hare-Mustin, 1978). Although many family therapists and scholars still consider themselves systems thinkers, a first-order, general systems approach was limited and relatively short-lived; primarily because the metaphor of families as being similar to mechanical or biological self-correcting systems was reductionistic.…”

“…Although many family therapists and scholars still consider themselves systems thinkers, a first-order, general systems approach was limited and relatively short-lived; primarily because the metaphor of families as being similar to mechanical or biological self-correcting systems was reductionistic. Feminist family scholars challenged first-order thinking by pointing out how inequities in societal systems impact family roles and power dynamics (Hair, Fine, & Ryan, 1996;Hare-Mustin, 1978). In time, Hoffman (1981Hoffman ( , 1985 and others (e.g., Anderson & Goolishan, 1992;Keeney, 1983) called for second-order systems thinking; a shift that included acknowledging the influence of our own context and viewpoint on how we "know" families with whom we work.…”