Family Therapy Skills and Techniques in Action

229 Pages·2017·2.47 MB·English

by  Mark Rivett

Family Therapy Skills and
Techniques in Action
Relationships are a resource for healing a range of psychological difficulties. This
is the fundamental principle of family therapy, an increasingly influential form
of psychotherapy that is building up a strong evidence base in a range of psy-
chological problems across the life cycle. Family Therapy Skills and Techniques
in Action is both a guide to a variety of family therapy techniques and a review
of their history. It provides a thorough explanation of the techniques, explaining
their origins and use in contemporary family practice, whilst guiding readers in
learning new skills. The authors provide film examples and transcripts of the tech-
niques in action so that readers can develop their skills in a practical way.
The book is divided into sections that describe and demonstrate skills such as:
•• Assessing a family;
•• Building a therapeutic relationship with multiple family members;
•• Enactment;
•• Reframing;
•• Using circular questions;
•• ‘Externalising’ the problem;
•• Using family therapy skills in individual work;
•• Understanding and utilising systemic supervision.
Family Therapy Skills and Techniques in Action will be an essential practical
manual for a range of family therapy skills which can be used in family work by
family practitioners from a variety of backgrounds: counsellors, support workers,
social workers, psychologists, generic therapists and nurses.
Mark Rivett is the director of Family and Systemic Psychotherapy training at the
University of Exeter and a family therapist in South Wales. He is a past editor of
the Journal of Family Therapy.
Joanne Buchmüller is a specialist family and systemic psychotherapist in an ado-
lescent inpatient unit in South Wales and a visiting lecturer in Systemic Family
Therapy at the Universities of Bristol and Exeter.
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Family Therapy Skills and
Techniques in Action
Mark Rivett and Joanne Buchmüller
with Karon Oliver
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Mark Rivett and Joanne Buchmüller
The right of Mark Rivett and Joanne Buchmüller to be identified as
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Rivett, Mark, author. | Buchmüller, Joanne, author. |
Oliver, Karon, author.
Title: Family therapy skills and techniques in action / Mark Rivett
and Joanne Buchmüller; with Karon Oliver.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017020756| ISBN 9781138831445
(hardback: alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138831438 (pbk.: alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781315728216 (Master) | ISBN 9781317542254 (Web PDF) |
ISBN 9781317542247 (epub) | ISBN 9781317542230 (mobipocket/kindle)
Subjects: | MESH: Family Therapy–methods Classification:
LCC RC488.53 | NLM WM 430.5.F2 | DDC 616.89/156–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017020756
ISBN: 978-1-138-83144-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-83143-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-72821-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
www.routledgementalhealth.com/9781138831438
To Eddy, a great teacher, mentor and friend, and to Hannah, the best
colleague I could ask for. MR
To my supervisors, past and present: thank you for your guidance
and inspiration, and to John, Tom and Harry: I am forever grateful for
your practical support and enduring patience. We did this! JB
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Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Preface ix
1 Introduction: setting the scene 1
2 Family therapy: listening to the orchestra 9
3 Assessment: finding out what we need to know 23
4 Integrative family therapy: a contemporary practice 49
5 Structural family therapy: creating a new dance with families 77
6 Strategic family therapy: making language therapeutic 98
7 The Milan and Post-Milan approach: changing rules
and meanings in family life 122
8 Narrative therapy: interpreting the story 151
9 Working systemically with individuals: opening up a
different view 171
10 Systemic supervision: reflective practice to enhance outcomes 194
Epilogue: destination or starting point? 211
Index 213
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the generosity of many people in the development
of this book. First, to Karon Oliver for her efforts, ideas, collaboration and contri-
bution to this work. Second, to all the publishers and family therapists who have
given photographs and permission to re-publish their work. We want to give spe-
cial thanks to Laura Fruggeri, Giuliana Prata and to Matteo Selvini for their con-
tributions in Chapter 7. Third, to the actors and to John Buchmüller and Thomas
Bowes without whom this project would never have happened. And finally, to all
the families and students who have enriched our practice over the years. This book
has been germinated, cultivated and harvested because of you.
Preface
Context makes the mystery of human relationships more understandable. This is
one of the primary lessons of family therapy. Therefore, understanding the con-
text of this book may contribute to an ongoing relationship between reader, writer,
therapist and family.
Psychological therapies in the UK and Europe are undergoing a renaissance.
In the UK, the seeds of past movements that challenged a purely biological under-
standing of psychological suffering and that championed consumer voices, have
matured into pressure to widen access to a growing array of psychological therapies.
With this growth comes a need to find new ways of teaching these therapies that
takes them out of the exclusive ‘institute’ and into the everyday world of social
workers, counsellors, mental health nurses and support workers. These clinicians
want to learn skills and techniques; they need these skills to complement rather than
supplant their current skill base; and they require models of learning that accord
with contemporary ‘YouTube’ styles of learning. This book, with its accompanying
films, aims to satisfy this new interest specifically in family therapy.
Although this book is a response to a very new demand, it is also a poem to
the past. As new generations of clinicians and family workers emerge, the knowl-
edge about where this or that technique comes from fades. It is true that this book
is founded on the idea that the application of a technique is as important as its
origins. Yet history has its value. Sometimes digging in the past unearths hid-
den gems. Family therapy, in both its evidence-based and social-constructionist
formats, has moved away from this history. We hope therefore that this book will
serve as a reminder that demonstrates that many of the techniques that grew from
the fertile soil of family therapy are eminently practical and applicable in contem-
porary family practice.