This article describes the philosophical foundations and educational methods of a Spanish language and cultural immersion program based in Mexico City, Mexico. The program is designed to assist U.S. graduate students in marriage and family therapy and clinical psychology programs to improve clinical service delivery with Latino clients. Utilizing…

Recommends that family therapists be aware of the dynamics of the malfunctioning family which affects the process of alcoholism. Describes a family program which is part of a comprehensive alcoholism treatment program. Individual and group intervention address the family problems set in motion by alcoholism. (Author/JAC)

Presents a brief introduction to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), followed by case examples which illustrate some of the substantive gains which NLP techniques have provided in work with couples and families. NLP's major contributions involve understanding new models of human experience. (WAS)

Describes four interventions in brief family therapy, illustrated by case examples. Interventions are aimed at helping clients solve problems, and three assumptions about the nature of change are described. Results of these interventions suggest there is no clinical distinction between clients' perceived change and observed change. (JAC)

Presents salient issues for therapists in understanding and treating the remarried (REM, second, blended, reconstituted or step) family. The structure of the remarried family is differentiated from that of the intact family. Specific treatment goals for REM families are elaborated and various treatment modalities advocated. (Author)

Addresses clinical and methodological issues in conducting the Marital Systems Study, a research project evaluating the efficacy of systems-oriented conjoint treatment with couples in which one spouse is abusing alcohol. These include standardizing and monitoring the intervention and developing an interactional perspective on the alcohol-related…

Describes positive response to a parent support and assistance program in a private pediatric office. Discusses other positive offshoots of the program, including identification of underlying marital and/or family problems of parents seeking advice about their children's behaviors. (Author)

Describes the Milan method of working with families, including a pattern of creative teamwork that separates the therapists' cognitive constructions from the family's belief systems, a style of interviewing that releases information latent in the family, and some novel interventions that facilitate the family's capacity to discover nonsymptomatic…

This paper presents an empirical approach to supervision and training of marriage and family therapists. Advantages from the use of the empirical approach include a systematic investigation of the skills and competencies of the therapists, and establishing the basis for the scientific study of supervision. Two case studies are given. (Author)

Describes the use of a penny game as a counseling technique to interrupt an unwanted cycle of behavior between spouses. The game can be explained in terms of both paradox and power and is useful with several marriage counseling techniques which teach more appropriate verbal behavior. (JAC)

Describes a technique for systematically teaching family therapy trainees the skill of positively connoting family behavior. The step by step procedure emphasizes the basic theoretical assumption that the definition of reality can be changed. Benevolent descriptions reduce family resistance and set the stage for change to occur. (JAC)

The author's system of premarital counseling and examination consists of four visits before marriage and one after. These visits are for introducing the contractual elements of marriage; taking medical histories and physical examinations; introducing a program for beginning marriage; and resolving problems in the early weeks of marriage. (BP)

Describes a project designed to reach low-income, multiproblem families, utilizing couples therapy in the home. Reviews major characteristics of multiproblem families. Emphasized therapeutic techniques based on modeling, role playing, and demonstration. Designed tasks which increased the individual and couple functioning of spouses. Reinforced…

Discusses a pilot study in which joint consultations with a family therapist and a matrimonial attorney were offered to 10 couples and one woman contemplating divorce. Videotaped sessions. Suggests joint consultations can be useful in helping couples understand the psychological and legal implications of conflicts expressed during separation.…

Describes therapist-structured marital separation for distressed couples during their critical period of deciding whether to divorce or remain married. Discusses characteristics of marital distress appropriate for structured marital separation, potential benefits, and design of the separation contract. Issues addressed include duration, frequency…