Tracy Lara

Treating Infidelity: Considering Narratives of Attachment

This article presents a counseling model for treating infidelity based on the integration of key aspects of attachment theory into a narrative therapy approach. The authors describe specific guidelines for their model after first reviewing personal attachment styles with a proclivity toward infidelity and providing a brief review of initial treatment considerations. Finally, they present a case example illustrating the use of narrative therapy and attachment theory as a model for treating infidelity.

The Facilitation and Maintenance of the Therapeutic Alliance in Family Therapy

The formation and maintenance of the therapeutic alliance in family therapy involves complexities pertaining to the stabilizing tendency of family systems, and the necessity for negotiation of the goals and tasks of therapy with and among multiple individuals (i.e., the family members) in a context of systemic reciprocity and mutual influence. This article explores the complexities associated with the establishment and maintenance of the therapeutic alliance in family therapy. Alliance stances are presented as clinical applications designed to assist therapists in working with split alliances, establishing within family collaboration, and in negotiating homeostatic processes.

Establishing and Maintaining Organizational Trust in the 21st Century

Recent corporate and academic scandals have led to decreasing levels of trust and confidence in many organizations. Whether the organization is a college or university, a government agency, a private company or a public corporation, the establishment and maintenance of trust is essential to both short-term success and long-term efficacy. This article deals with how managers and leaders can work to establish trust in their organizations via such strategies as fostering behavioural consistency, behavioural integrity, sharing of control, effective communication and demonstration of concern for employees. Also included are strategies of maintaining and enhancing trust, how the level of trust in an organization affects the individual as well as the entire enterprise, and the consequences of losing organizational trust.

Implementing the Team Approach in Higher Education: Important Questions and Advice for Administrators

Many companies have implemented the team approach as a way to empower their employees in an effort to enhance productivity, quality and overall profitability. While application of the concept to higher education administration has been limited, colleges and universities could benefit from the team approach if implemented appropriately and conscientiously. The authors discuss some of the issues and concerns that are relevant to implementing the team approach in an academic environment. Suggestions for implementing teams in higher education are provided, including the difference between the team approach and traditional administration, the importance of a preliminary needs assessment, the development of an implementation plan, the critical role of leadership, dealing with issues of assessment and accountability, and the concept of team efficacy.

A Structural Approach to Assisting Families Recovering From Job Loss

Job loss can have a significant impact on family structure, which in turn may be associated with interpersonal turmoil among family members. This article examines the impact of job loss on families through a systemic lens. Structural techniques for addressing transitions and interpersonal turmoil associated with job loss are discussed.

Career Counseling and Family Therapy An Interview with Mark Savickas, PhD

Mark Savickas, PhD, has taught career counseling at Kent State University for 40 years while also serving as a professor of Family and Community Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University. His 80 articles, 45 book chapters, and 500 presentations to professional groups have dealt with vocational behavior and career counseling. He published Career Counseling (2011) and edited Convergence in Career Development Theories (1994 with R. Lent), Handbook of Career Counseling Theory and Practice (1996 with B. Walsh), Vocational Interests (1999 with A. Spokane), the Handbook of Vocational Psychology (2005 with B. Walsh) and the four-volume Major Works in Career Studies (2012 with K. Inkson). An interview with Mark Savickas, PhD, relating to his contributions career counseling revealed many connections between career and family counseling, including the how career concerns are a part of the family constellation. The interview examined the evolution of the career construction interview and similarities in the narrative processes that serve as a foundation for the theory.

Family of Origin and Career Counseling An Interview With Robert Chope

Robert Chope is a professor of counseling at San Francisco State University, where he coordinates the Career Counseling Program. He is also the founder of the Career and Personal Development Institute in San Francisco, a practice that he has had for more than 25 years. Dr. Chope received his PhD from the University of Minnesota, Department of Psychology, where his dissertation advisor was David P. Campbell of the Strong-Campbell and Campbell Interest and Skills Inventory fame. His undergraduate work was at Harvard University, where he was heavily influenced and mentored by B. F. Skinner. Dr. Chope is a licensed psychologist and a licensed marriage and family therapist. He is the author of Dancing Naked: Breaking Through the Emotional Limits That Keep You From the Job You Want and Shared Confinement: Healing Options for You and the Agoraphobic in Your Life, both published by New Harbinger Publications, and Family Matters: The Influence of the Family in Career Decision Making by Pro-Ed. He has been heard on more than 100 radio and television shows around the country and is regularly featured in newspapers and online journals. Recently, he was the subject of interviews on eWeek, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Cosmopolitan Magazine. In the San Francisco Bay Area, he has been on NPR, KQED Forum, KUSF Forum, and KCBS Sunday Morning radio stations and KPIX, KRON, KTVU, and UPN 44 television stations. He is a fellow of the National Career Development Association (NCDA), a winner of the Robert Swan Lifetime Achievement in Career Counseling Award, and a winner of the 2004 NCDA outstanding career practitioner of the year award. An interview with Robert Chope, PhD, concerning his contributions in career counseling revealed many opportunities to integrate career and family counseling. The interview explored the evolution of career counseling and the inclusion of family systems perspectives. Case examples were provided.