Metaframeworks: Transcending the Models of Family Therapy (JOSSEY BASS SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE SERIES)

Family therapists have traditionally been divided among conflicting schools of theoretical allegiance. Yet, increasingly, practitioners are finding that any one approach to family therapy is limited in its efficacy. Rather than simply creating another school of therapy, Douglas Breunlin, Richard Schwartz, and Betty Mac Kune-Karrer have sought to go beyond the theoretical boundaries that currently constrain family therapy. In this book the authors offer a foundation for understanding the fundamental concepts that underlie all family therapy approaches--and they show how to apply these "metaframeworks" to an expanded understanding of human systems. Full of practical ideas, methods, and examples, Metaframeworks offers a wealth of guidelines for applying innovative strategies to a wide range of clinical problems and populations. In addition, this book provides an orientation to thinking about human systems at many levels, revealing a set of concepts with which to analyze the complexity of family life. By acknowledging and expanding upon the fundamental understandings of various family therapy approaches, the authors enable all practicing clinicians to improve the flexibility and comprehensiveness of their approaches--without having to abandon their training. Furthermore, the authors look beyond the boundaries of traditional family systems approaches, seeking to help therapists better understand the individual's internal thought processes. And they examine the influence of the social context on families, discussing in depth such factors as culture and gender.