Jerome F. Adams

Impact of Parent Training on Family Functioning

ABSTRACT This study examined outcomes of a STEP parent training program in several areas of family functioning identified by the so-called McMaster model of family health. The study found that participants who completed the parent training did report more improvements in general family functioning than those families whose children received routine mental health services. More specific improvements in family relationships were reported in the areas of problem solving, communication, affective responsiveness, and behavior control. Some differential effects were found for children older than 10 years of age. These improvements were also evaluated to determine their clinical significance, by examining how many families moved from problematic to healthy functioning. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Teaching Accountability: Using Client Feedback to Train Effective Family Therapists

The AAMFT Task Force on Core Competencies (Nelson et al., 2007) proposed that marriage and family therapy (MFT) educators teach and provide evidence of trainee competence beyond coursework and accrued clinical hours. This article describes the integration of a systematic client feedback protocol into an MFT-accredited programs curricula to address the call for outcome-based learning. Outcome management (OM) provides a framework for teaching and assessing trainee effectiveness. Continuous incorporation of client feedback embodies collaborative, strengths-based, integrative, and diversity-centered program values. Students learn a system for being accountable to clients, the profession, and service communities.

Evaluating Training Needs for Home-Based Family Therapy: A Focus Group Approach

Therapists and supervisors engaged in the delivery of home-based services participated in two rounds of focus groups. Participants discussed the challenges they face doing home-based therapy, and how an accredited family therapy program could modify its curriculum to better prepare trainees to meet these demands. Eight topic areas considered necessary for home-based practice were identified and the implications for training reviewed. The focus group methodology is described in detail and is recommended as a useful tool to assess training needs and as a way of promoting improved collaboration among training sites.

What's the Problem? A Look at Men in Marital Therapy

This study examined the premise that mens lack of awareness of relational problems contributes to their reluctance to consider, seek, and benefit from couple therapy. Ninety-two couples reported on couple and family problem areas using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Family Assessment Device. No gender differences were found either in the frequency or pattern of initial problem reports or improvement rates during ten sessions of couples therapy at a university training outpatient clinic. Implications for treatment and recommendations for future research are discussed.

self-perception and personal commitment: A Challenge to current theory of marital dissolution and stability and implications for marital therapy

Abstract This paper proposes a modification of social exchange theories of marital dissolution. Utilizing self-perception theory from social psychology, a systemic rather than a linear conceptualization is outlined and illustrated with case examples. It explains why couples who are deciding whether to divorce are typically ambivalent, and why individuals who choose to remain in unhappy relationships even when they feel free to go may experience renewed personal commitment. Clinical interventions are described to assist the clinician working with couples contemplating marital dissolution. These interventions help clients explore the various options available to them, without implying their choices are in any way deficient.

Questions as Interventions in Therapeutic Conversation

The focus of this paper is the use of questions as interventions in therapeutic conversation. A detailed case analysis illustrates how in-session questioning promotes change, the strate-gizing role of therapist in formulating questions, and the usefulness of questions in promoting a collaborative atmosphere in therapy.

Contextual Therapy: Applying the Family Ledger to Couple Therapy

ABSTRACT This paper uses detailed case analysis to illustrate the intergenerational concepts of loyalty, legacy, and relational stagnation described by Boszormenyi-Nagy in his Contextual Therapy approach. Special emphasis is given to how the therapist assesses the ethical dimension of a couples interactions and links this to reported symptoms and relationship difficulties among all family members.

Divorce Therapy in Context

Abstract Partners trying to decide whether to continue or end their marriage rely on the expertise of therapists to help them evaluate their alternatives. Research on what predicts divorce and what consequences divorce has for parents and children is reviewed so therapists are informed in the guidance they give clients. Attention is given to the environmental context of marriage as well as its interior quality. Implications for therapists doing divorce therapy in the context of a “pro-marriage” climate are also discussed.