Doing Family Therapy Craft and Creativity in Clinical Practice

Engaging, practical, and infused with clinical wisdom, this widely used text and practitioner guide helps therapists working with families to hit the ground running. The revised and updated fourth edition brings fresh insights into the issues families bring to therapy and the therapist's moment-to-moment decision making. Rather than advocating one best approach, Robert Taibbi shows that there are multiple ways to guide parents, children, and adolescents and harness their strengths. The beginning, middle, and end stages of treatment are richly illustrated with chapter-length case examples. End-of-chapter learning exercises help readers build key skills and creatively develop their own clinical style. New to This Edition *All chapters revised, with new case studies throughout. *Sidebars on common challenges facing new clinicians: self-doubt, the emotional experience of working with distressed families, and more. *Increased attention to what the therapist can say and do to actively shape each session. *Heightened focus on process--helping families explore the "how" of problem solving as much as the "what." See also the author's Doing Couple Therapy, Second Edition: Craft and Creativity in Work with Intimate Partners.

1. Family Therapy: Welcome to Oz 2. Core Concepts: Problems, Process, Patterns, and Resistance 3. The Basic Seven: What to Do When You Dont Know What to Do 4. In the Beginning: Great Expectations 5. In the Beginning: Running the Sessions 6. The Middle Stage: Are We There Yet? 7. Endings: Enough Already? 8. Jack Has a Problem: Kids in the Family 9. Jack: The Story Continues 10. Maggie: Its Not About Food 11. Helping Maggie: Unraveling Adolescence 12. Getting to the Core: Couple Work in Family Therapy 13. The Power of One: Individual Work in a Family Context 14. Staying Sane: Survival Tips for Therapists References Index

Robert Taibbi, LCSW, is an experienced clinician, supervisor, and clinical director who has been practicing since the 1970s. He is the author of numerous books, including Doing Family Therapy, Fourth Edition, and Doing Couple Therapy, Second Edition, as well as over 300 magazine and journal articles, and writes a column entitled Fixing Families for Psychology Today online. Mr. Taibbi provides training both nationally and internationally in couple therapy, family therapy, brief therapy, and clinical supervision. He has a private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia.