When Marriages Fail: Systemic Family Therapy Interventions and Issues

by Craig Everett, Robert E Lee

Overview

Leading experts reveal systemic and integrative approaches to family therapy

When Marriages Fail: Systemic Family Therapy Interventions and Issues presents several leading experts in the field discussing the full spectrum of clinical interventions and family therapy for troubled and divorcing families. This comprehensive resource presents a broad overview of the literature that provides a foundation for the entire field, then narrows its focus to clearly review clinical assessment models and the special issues that may be factors in conflicted families. Therapists, psychologists, counselors, and social workers learn cutting-edge recommendations for policies protecting the well-being of children involved in divorce, plus practical, specific systemic treatment interventions that are illustrated with case studies.

When Marriages Fail is separated into three logically organized sections. Part one provides a helpful overview of the field’s evolving literature as it stands now and gives tools to therapists and their clients to explore their internal and dyadic processes in considering whether or not to divorce. The second part presents two systemic models that explore the dynamics of conflicted couples moving toward divorce and considers specific family circumstances that affect the entire divorce process, such as family violence, disclosure of gender orientation, and the unhappiness of the family’s children. Part three discusses in detail specific and practical treatment interventions, considering factors involved when diverse families separate, divorce, and remarry.

The text also provides a fitting tribute to William C. Nichols, a pioneer of marital and family therapy.

Topics in When Marriages Fail include:

• the therapist’s choices in helping couples process their own choices
  
• an ecosystemic look at the rights of children in divorce
  
• interventions for mourning, adulterous triangles, incongruent goals, cultural differences, or family of origin
  
• disclosing gay or lesbian orientation in marriage
  
• domestic violence issues
  
• children’s trauma in the parental break-up
  
• family therapy interventions through three systemic stages of divorce
  
• remarriage of the first spouse in post-divorce families
  
• trauma of the betrayed spouse
  
• parent loss and serial relationships
  
• “gay divorces”
  
• and more!

With Forewords by Douglas Sprenkle and Augustus Y. Napier as well as several international contributors who shed light on how this compelling subject is addressed outside of the United States, When Marriages Fail is an invaluable source of the latest knowledge and interventions for family therapists, counselors, social workers, and psychologists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781317786672
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/14/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	346
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Craig Everett, Robert E Lee

Table of Contents

About the Editors. Contributors. Napier, Sprenkle, Foreword. Preface: Tribute to William C. Nichols Jr., EdD. Part I: An Overview. Livingston, Bowen, Treating Divorcing Families in Family Therapy: A Literature Review. Charny, Staying Together or Separating and Divorcing: Helping Couples Process Their Choices. Lee, An Ecosystemic Look at the Rights of Children in Divorce. Part II: Models and Issues. Armour, Systemic Dynamics and Interventions for Selected Marital Conflicts. Ball, Hiebert, Four Predivorce Marital Typologies That Aid Clinical Assessment. Bigner, Disclosing Gay or Lesbian Orientation Within Marriage: A Systems Perspective. Harway, Issues of Separation and Divorce in Families Affected by Domestic Violence. Seltzer, Children’s Voices in the Midst of Parental Breakup: A Qualitative Study of Trauma in “Ordinary” Families. Herman, The Influence of Divorce on Children: A Special Focus on Iceland. Kaslow, Postdivorce Relatedness Between Parents, Their Divorced Sons, and Their Grandchildren: A Pilot Study.

Editorial Reviews

"…provides a wealth of information about divorce for beginning and seasoned therapists alike…bridge[s] the gap between legal and mental health disciplines. Everett and Lee provide a concise review of the current literature while offering readers with best practices for working with divorcing families…an invaluable addition to the library of new and seasoned therapists. For beginning therapists, it gives numerous examples of challenges the reader may face when working with divorcing families. For the accomplished therapist, this book covers many possible scenarios that are likely to occur at some point in the therapist’s career, as well as challenge therapists’ biases about divorce… a valuable resource."

– Brandy M. Lucas, M.S., Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy

From the Publisher