Therapeutic alliances in couple and family therapy : an empirically informed guide to practice / Myrna L. Friedlander, Valentín Escudero, Laurie Heatherington.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Friedlander, Myrna L., author.

Contributor:

Escudero, Valentín, 1961-

Heatherington, Laurie.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Marital psychotherapy.

Family psychotherapy.

Family Therapy--methods.

Couples Therapy--methods.

Models, Psychological.

Professional-Patient Relations.

Psychotherapeutic Processes.

Medical Subjects:

Family Therapy--methods.

Couples Therapy--methods.

Models, Psychological.

Professional-Patient Relations.

Psychotherapeutic Processes.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

APA PsycBOOKS.

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, [2006]

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

Summary:

""Therapeutic Alliances in Couple and Family Therapy" demonstrates the crucial importance of healthy working relationships with clients in couple and family therapy. The authors' conceptual model (System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances, or SOFTA) integrates theory, research, and practice related to the alliance in couple and family therapy. The authors demonstrate how to gather evidence about working alliances by tracking specific positive and negative behaviors in therapy sessions, including clients' as well as therapists' behavioral contributions to the alliance. Therapists, therapists-in-training, and clinical supervisors can use the SOFTA to assess the strength of the alliance on four dimensions (Engagement in the Therapeutic Process, Emotional Connection With the Therapist, Safety Within the Therapeutic System, and Shared Sense of Purpose Within the Family) and figure out a strategy to move the therapy forward. The book is rich in clinical case examples illustrating each SOFTA dimension with culturally diverse couples and families. Throughout, the authors discuss various challenging clinical situations, including "split" alliances, therapist countertransference, problematic professional alliances, and working with involuntary and mandated clients. The observational and self-report instruments, available in both English and Spanish, are included as part of the book. They are also available free, along with a software version, on the Internet at http://www.softa-soatif.net. Users can download their own videos into the software to rate the alliance for clinical or research purposes. Couple and family therapists, their supervisors, academics and graduate students, and researchers will all benefit from this book"--Jacket. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

Contents:

Therapeutic alliance in psychotherapy

Introducing the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances

Observing the alliance

Engagement in the therapeutic process

Emotional connection to the therapist

Safety within the therapeutic system

Shared sense of purpose within the family

Building blocks of the alliance

Repairing split alliances

Diversity within the alliance

Therapy with unwilling and mandated clients

Zero-sum problems

Therapist countertransference

Misalliances between professional helpers

Building and maintaining healthy alliances

Appendix A: SOFTA-o (client and therapist) and SOATIF-o (client and therapist)

Appendix B: SOFTA-s (client and therapist) and SOATIF-s (client and therapist)

Appendix C: constructions of problems scale and summary profile

References.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-323) and index.

Electronic reproduction. Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association, 2005. Available via the World Wide Web. Access limited by licensing agreement. s2005 dcunns.

Other Format:

Original

ISBN:

1591473314

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.