Family Psychology Specialty Council 2012

Family Psychology
Family Psychology Specialty Council 2012
What is Family Psychology
Family Psychology is a specialty in professional psychology that is focused on the emotions, thoughts, and behavior of individuals, couples, and families in relationships and in the broader environment in which they function. It is a specialty founded on principles of systems theory, with the family as a system being of most central focus. Family Psychology has a rich research and practice tradition Within this framework family therapists might study and practice with:

Individuals Couples Families Work groups
Major focus
It is not so much that family psychologists treat different populations or even that a family psychologists clients present with vastly different problems. Rather, it is the way in which family psychologists think and work that differentiates him or her from the more traditionally trained professional psychologist. The family psychologist is trained to approach client issues from systemic and multisystemic perspectives.
This perspective provides a vastly different conceptual model from which to view the complex presenting issues of families and their constituent members.
Whether the client is a family, a couple, or a single member of a family, the family psychologist
History
Family Psychology has its roots in the early child welfare and social work movements of the early 1900s The unique nature of Family Psychology emerged in the 1960s with the emergence of systems thinking
The early systems thinkers were mathematicians, economists, engineers, and communication theorists
The first generation of Family Psychology theoretically based practices were built on systems thinking and come about in the middle 1960s
Evidence-based Family Psychology emerged from
Scope
Family Psychologists work with individuals, couples, families and broader social systems. Regardless of the client, the Family Psychologist conceptualizes treatment from an interpersonal, systems perspective. Family Psychology researchers study family dynamics, couple dynamics, relationship patterns and effective practices Family Psychology intervention have been found to be effective with:
Youth behavior problems Couple and family communication issues Couple relational distress Substance use and abuse (in couples, families and with youth) Managing mental illness by reducing hospitalizations and relapse Schooling problems of youngsters Behavioral problems of children or adolescents
Main Theories
Traditional/Historical Approaches Structural Family Therapy Strategic Family Therapy Multigenerational Family Therapy McMaster Model
Evidence Based Family Interventions Functional Family Therapy Multisystemic Family Therapy Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy Multidimensional Family Therapy Cognitive Family/Couple Therapy Behavioral Couple Therapy
Typical Techniques

Evidence based Treatments Systems interventions (including family therapy) from a wide array of emphases Network therapy Couples therapy Group therapy and work group therapy
Consultation with external authorities such as school professionals, primary and chronic care physicians, juvenile authorities and the courts
Sub-Areas

Family Therapy Couple Therapy Parent Education Divorce Mediation Sex Therapy Organizational Consultation
Forensic Parenting and Child Evaluations
The effectiveness of Family Psychology
Family Psychology has a 50 year tradition of research focusing on:

The effectiveness of family psychology intervention The patterns and processes of family and couple functioning
Family Psychology has repeatedly been found to be as or more effective than alternative approaches for a wide range of psychological problems
Current Issues
How to effectively implement Family and Couple based treatment in community settings Identifying adaptation for cultural and ethnic diversity
Integrating Family Psychology into Primary Care settings

Primary training in Couple and Family Psychology in graduate and undergraduate training Using Family Psychology intervention methods to work with major mental illness
Resources
Books:
Sexton, T. L., Weeks, G., Robbins, M. (2003). Handbook of Family Therapy. New York: Routledge.
Fonagy, P. Taret, M, Cottrell, D, Phillips, J, and Kurtz, Z. (2002). What works for whom? A critical review of treatments for children and adolescents. New York: Guilford Press. Kazdin, A. E. and Weisz, J.R. Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents. (2003). New York: Guilford Press Bray, J.H. and Stanton, M. (2009). The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Family Psychology. New York: WileyBlackwell
Journals: Journal of Family Psychology Family and Couple Research and Practice Journal of Marital and Family Therapy

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Family Psychology Specialty Council 2012

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Family Psychology

Family Psychology Specialty Council 2012

What is Family Psychology

Individuals Couples Families Work groups

Forensic Parenting and Child Evaluations

The effectiveness of Family Psychology

Family Psychology has a 50 year tradition of research focusing on:

Integrating Family Psychology into Primary Care settings

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