Essential Skills in Family Therapy: From the First Interview to Termination [Hardcover]

JoEllen Patterson Phd (Author), Lee Williams PhD LMFT (Author), Claudia Grauf-Grounds Phd (Author), Larry Chamow PhD LMFT (Author), Claudia Grauf-Grounds (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1572303077 | ISBN-13: 978-1572303072 | Publication Date: March 20, 1998 | Edition: 1

Designed throughout to meet the developmental needs of the beginning family therapist, this handbook provides readers with the basic skills and tools necessary to become empathic, confident, and successful practitioners in today's rapidly changing field of family therapy. From initial client intake to the nuts-and-bolts of the interview, assessment, diagnosis, goal setting, treatment planning, intervention techniques, troubleshooting, and termination, the book translates current research findings into cogent recommendations for practice. Numerous case examples and sample treatment plans, forms, and questionnaires complement the text.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is the resource that beginning family therapists have anxiously awaited. Nowhere else can they find the day-to-day pragmatics of marital and family treatment spelled out so comprehensively. When used in conjunction with a theory-based text, this book helps beginners know what to do in addition to knowing how to think about families. It is written by seasoned clinicians who teach and supervise beginning students and know their fears, blind spots, and mistakes." --Richard C. Schwartz, PhD, Family Institute of Northwestern University

"This is a valuable and welcome text for the beginning family therapist and for students preparing for careers in the field. I was impressed by the wide array of coverage and the clear and practical way in which the material is presented. The authors, all skilled therapists and trainers, combine their knowledge and expertise to provide a guide which I will look forward to using in my classes to help students on their road to becoming artful, empathic, and knowledgeable therapists. As a trainer and supervisor, I am grateful to these four authors." --Marcia Lasswell, MA, University of Southern California

"An unprecedented clinical primer illustrated with myriad helpful suggestions that take into account the inner dilemmas of the therapist. This comprehensive and up-to-date book serves as a detailed manual of operations for clinicians, one that can be referred to again and again--like a wise consultant--when treatment gets 'stuck.' Even more crucially, therapists will learn the basis for thinking and acting with a biopsychosocial and integrative view of effective practice in the context of current changes in health care delivery. Trainers, supervisors, and students of family therapy will wonder how they could teach and learn before the publication of this book." --Celia Jaes Falicov, PhD, Associate Clinical Professor, University of California at San Diego

"An up-to-date and comprehensive 'how-to' manual that specifically addresses the anxieties and knowledge gaps of beginners regarding the 'nuts-and-bolts' of treatment, and that also addresses the administrative and political issues that surround MFT treatment at the turn of the century....As with an actual person who mentored me, this book speaks with clinical wisdom, clarity, gentleness, sensitivity, and flexibility; and I believe it will empower beginning therapists to do their best work." --from the Foreword by Douglas H. Sprenkle, PhD, Purdue University

About the Author

JoEllen Patterson, PhD, is Director of the COAMFTE-approved Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling Program at the University of San Diego and serves on the Behavioral Science faculty of Sharp HealthCare's Family Practice Residency. Her publications focus primarily on training and integration of mental health services with healthcare delivery systems.

Lee Williams, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling Program at the University of San Diego. A licensed family therapist and an Approved Supervisor of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, Dr. Williams has published articles on topics including premarital counseling, family therapy training, and supervision.

Claudia Grauf-Grounds, PhD, teaches in the Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling Program at the University of San Diego. She also serves on the Behavioral Science faculty of Sharp HealthCare's Family Practice Residency and is Director of San Diego's New Life Clinics, a multidisciplinary mental health practice.

Larry Chamow, PhD, has been a practicing family therapist for 18 years. He serves on the faculties of the Marital and Family Therapy Program, University of San Diego, and the California School of Professional Psychology. An Approved Supervisor of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and a member of the American Family Therapy Academy, he conducts his private practice at the Pacific Family Institute in Carlsbad, California.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (March 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572303077
• ISBN-13: 978-1572303072
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for all beginning therapists!, February 25, 2006

By 

Timothy Jones "Andrea" (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Essential Skills in Family Therapy: From the First Interview to Termination (Hardcover)

This book will take you step-by-step through the process of doing psychotherapy from beginning to end. It is very user-friendly, basic and real. Out of my 8 textbooks this semester to read, this is the one that gets read first because of the valuable information it offers.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Primer, July 5, 2006

By 

B. L. Pohja (Gainesville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Essential Skills in Family Therapy: From the First Interview to Termination (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent primer for a family therapist, and is written as such. The text does not assume that the reader knows anything. It is a good introduction to family therapy for those who go above and beyond family counseling. As a mental health counseling grad student, I noticed that the text stays within its scope of family therapyt and does not stray from a this model.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great tool!, August 5, 2005

By 

Sandra G. Mattson "sandi mattson" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Essential Skills in Family Therapy: From the First Interview to Termination (Hardcover)

I ordered this book as a resource to assist me in my new position as a practitioner. I have found it so helpful I told the director of our organization who is recommending it to all his new hires.