William C. Nichols

Gaslighting: A marital syndrome

This paper is concerned with certain male behaviors during and after their extramarital affairs and the impact of those behaviors and associated attitudes on the mens spouses. The observations cited here are drawn from clinical samples but seemingly have some features in common with what appears in nonclinical populations as well. Not only the husbands but also male therapists may contribute to the womens distress through mislabeling the womens reactions and through continuation of certain stereotypical attitudes that reflect negatively on the wife whose husband has had an affair.

The Doctoral Education of Professional Marriage and Family Therapists.

The professional practice of marriage and family therapy (MFT) scholarship is regulated at the masters level in the United States. Consequently, contemporary curricular issues have largely been focused on what is to be achieved within the masters degree, with an emphasis on clinical practice. We consider here what value may and should be added through the doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy. Doctoral programs are the developmental stage wherein we should seek to transmit the specialized knowledge and skills germane to MFT scholarship and practice in diverse settings, e.g., clinical and research intensive university, family law, health care, child development and education, child welfare, juvenile justice, faith based, and business. However, underlying this specialty education are three transcendental goals: sophistication of family systems scholarship, socialization into the profession of MFT, and cultivation of professional maturity.

Understanding family violence: An orientation for family therapists

This paper offers clinicians an introduction to the broad, foundational issues underlying an informed approach to treating intrafamily violence. Important assumptions, drawn mostly from the work of empirical researchers, are provided. One holds that the recognition and treatment of family violence is an appropriate concern for most family therapists and not merely for those who work with the spectacular, notorious “tip of the iceberg” cases. Assessment and some treatment issues including spouse abuse, child abuse, and abusive adolescents are discussed briefly. Some commonly held therapeutic assumptions are challenged. Systemic approaches, rather than individual treatment, are considered appropriate for most cases.

Developmental perspectives and family therapy: The marital life cycle

Developmental perspectives have been part of family therapy for more than two decades with a primary focus on the family life cycle and individual development. Most efforts at recognizing a marital life cycle have subsumed marital tasks under rubrics based primarily on parental roles. This paper offers a marital life cycle based on marital development with specific tasks for each of four stages-the marital breakup and remarriage phases are not included here-and provides implications for therapy.

The shaping of family therapy education : An update

The preparation and credentialing of marital and family therapists in the United States and Canada continues to be significantly affected by the role of accreditation in MFT graduate education. This report on a study of Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education accredited degree programs and non-accredited programs shows some significant differences between the two paths to preparation and credentialing. Accredited programs tend to have more faculty, lower faculty-student ratios, more Approved Supervisors, more financial aid, more programs requiring practica and internships, and more emphasis on professional identification with marital and family therapy. Nonaccredited programs provide more emphasis on psychopathology, psychodiagnostic testing, and cognitive behavioral therapy.