systemagazin

Online-Journal für systemische Entwicklungen

Family Process 1974

Heft 1

Waxler, Nancy E. (1974): Parent and Child Effects on Cognitive Performance: An Experimental Approach to the Etiological and Responsive Theories of Schizophrenia. In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 1–22. 

Abstract: While many theorists have assumed that the family has an etiological part in the development of schizophrenia, most findings, since they come predominantly from observations after the illness has occurred, could plausibly be interpreted as family responses to the illness. In this experimental study, we constructed artificial families in order to measure independently of each other the effects of parents of schizophrenics on children and the effects of schizophrenic children on parents. Findings from a cognitive task requiring abilities to attend and abstract show that the presence of a schizophrenic child has only minor disruptive effects upon the performance of normal parents; parents of schizophrenics also have little effect upon normal children. Instead, the most consistent effects are those of normal parents on the schizophrenic child. Adolescent schizophrenic patients whose cognitive performance deficit is apparent prior to the experiment show significant improvement after having worked on the cognitive task with normal parents; their cognitive deficit disappears, and their performance is not different from matched normal children. Further investigation will center on the quality of the normal parents’ ‘normalizing’ effects.

Brody, Elaine M. (1974): Aging and Family Personality: A Developmental View. In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 23–37. 

Abstract: The dramatic numerical and proportional increase in the elderly population has important implications for family dynamics and the family life cycle. This paper considers some of the issues of aging, death, loss, and separation, as they relate to individual and family development and to shifting roles and responsibilities of family members.

Turk, James L. (1974): Power as the Achievement of Ends: A Problematic Approach in Family and Small Group Research. In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 39–52. 

Abstract: Most conceptions of power refer to the relative ability of persons to achieve individual ends in interpersonal contexts in which their ends conflict. Within groups, such as the family, which are characterized by functionally disuse and ongoing relations, there are serious methodological problems with determining actors’ ends. This has led to the use of a variety of substitute procedures that allow one to talk of power without assessing the particular ends of specific persons. This paper critically examines these substitute procedures and suggests their inadequacy for the study of families and similar small groups. It is suggested that an alternative to power must be found in order to proceed with the work for which that concept has been used. The sketch of one alternative is presented and its implications discussed.

Hassan, Susana Alicia (1974): Transactional and Contextual Invalidation between the Parents of Disturbed Families: A Comparative Study. In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 53–76. 

Abstract: This study was based on a standard task – the discussion of the question, ‘How, out of all the millions of people in the world, did the two of you get together?’- administered to the parents in ‘disturbed’ and ‘non-disturbed’ families. The family disturbance in the 46 families was classified according to its presence or absence, its degree, and its kind. The diagnoses were: schizophrenias (S), delinquency (D), under-achievement and/or enuresis, or psychosomatic complaints (U), ulcerative colitis (UC), and non-disturbed (N). Seven scales were used to score the parents’ verbal exchanges. Three scales that measure transactional and contextual validation and invalidation significantly differentiated the groups. Mutual validation was maximal in the N couples and minimal in the D and S couples. Invalidation between the D and S couples appeared to arise from their unsuccessful metacommunications.

Mcpherson, Cigrip R., Walter E. Brackelmanns & Lawrence E. Newman (1974): Stages in the Family Therapy of Adolescents. In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 77–94. 

Abstract: Family therapy is considered from the systems point of view as a process with a series of stages including definitive beginning and end points. The stages are identified as crisis points in family therapy – i.e., moments in the therapy process when the equilibrium of the family is upset and when stress reactions among family members are most likely to be intense. Since times of crisis also provide special opportunities for growth and change, they can be utilized therapeutically provided the therapist is knowledgeable about the kinds of upheavals that a family may experience and the time sequence in which they may occur. Eight such crisis points and their relation to therapeutic intervention are presented. The purpose of this paper is to outline the role of the crisis as therapeutic opportunity in the course of family therapy.

Leichter, Elsa & Gerda L. Schulman (1974): Multi-Family Group Therapy: A Multidimensional Approach. In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 95–110. 

Abstract: The procedures, dynamics, and process of multi-family group therapy are presented with case examples from the authors’ practice.

Hickok, James E. & Marilyn Gilbert Komechak (1974): Behavior Modification in Marital Conflict: A Case Report. In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 111–119. 

Abstract: The ability of marital partners to directly change an unhappy marriage to a happy one may be a function of each individual’s conscious awareness of the topography, frequency, and other parameters of his own behavior, as well as his awareness of the consequences these behaviors have on his spouse. This paper reports an attempt to combine the use of relevant behavioral awareness and a token economy to rehabilitate a marriage in crisis. An initial two-month follow-up indicated, both from the data and the couples’ subjective report, that the relationship was now much more reinforcing and both partners were satisfied with the marriage.

Engel, Lewis & Brandy Engel (1974): Review – Jackie Herrigan & Jeff Herrigan (1973): Loving Free. New York (Grosset and Dunlap). In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 125–125. 

Selcer, Bobbi (1974): Review – Joan M. Constantine & Larry L. Constantine (1973): Group Marriage: A Study of Contemporary Multilateral Marriage. New York (The MacMillan Company,). In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 125–127. 

Sherman, Alan M. (1974): Review – Carl R. Rogers (1972): Becoming Partners: Marriage and Its Alternatives. New York (Delacorte Press). In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 127–127. 

Spitzer, Robert (1974): Review – Donald A. Bloch (Ed.)(1973): Techniques of Family Psychotherapy: A Primer. New York (Grune and Stratton). In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 127–128. 

Whitaker, Carl A. (1974): Review – Israel Charny (1972): Marital Love and Hate. The Need for a Revised Marriage Contract. How You Can Love and Hate, Honor and Dishonor, Obey and Disobey. New York (Macmillan Company). In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 128–129. 

Michels, Robert (1974): Review – James Wechsler (1972): In a Darkness. New York (W. W. Norton). In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 129–130. 

Abstracts of Literature.  (1974): In: Family Process, 13 (1), S. 137–140. 


Heft 2

Weakland, John H., Richard Fisch, Paul Watzlawick & Arthur M. Bodin (1974): Brief Therapy: Focused Problem Resolution. In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 141–168. 

Abstract: This article describes a general view of the nature of human problems and their effective resolution and of related specific procedures, growing out of our prior work in family therapy, that have developed during six years of research on rapid problem resolution. With treatment limited to a maximum of ten sessions, we have achieved significant success in about three-fourths of a sample of 97 widely varied cases, and this approach to problems appears to have considerable potential for further development and wider application.

Liebowitz, Bernard & Michael Black (1974): The Structure of the Ravich Interpersonal Game/Test. In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 169–183. 

Abstract: Testing technology and research instruments in the study of family process are still generally entrenched in the assumption of the ‘pathological individual.’ One innovative approach to the study of interpersonal process is the use of simulation games. A brief summary of the potential value of simulation for the study of the family and marriage precedes a factor analytic study of the Ravich Interpersonal Game/ Test (RIG/T), a simulation game designed to study dyadic decision-making. Seventy-five married couples seeking marital therapy in private-practice settings compose the study sample. The goal of the study is to investigate the degree to which the RIG/T is representative of the process aspects of marital decision-making, i.e., to assess content validity. Three clear factors account for a major portion of the variance: ‘Husband’s Losing and Withdrawing While Wife Impedes,”Wife’s Losing and Withdrawing as Husband Impedes,’ and ‘Open Conflict and Withdrawal from It.’ The pattern of factor intercorrelations suggests that the RIG/T is tapping at least two separate aspects of marital decision-making: the degree to which a person actively impedes the spouse’s activity and the extent to which conflict is characteristic of a couple as they negotiate. It is concluded that the RIG/T, as currently constituted, may not be discriminating enough a simulation problem presented to dyads.

Rubin, Judith A. & Max G. Magnussen (1974): A Family Art Evaluation. In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 185–200. 

Abstract: A two-hour family art evaluation session has been designed by an art therapist and a clinical child psychologist. It has been used in a child guidance center for the past four years by the authors and other staff. All family members are asked to engage in three tasks: (a) individually developing a scribble into a picture; (b) individually creating a family portrait, and (c) jointly deciding upon and executing a mural. Each task is followed by individual and group discussion of products, associations, and feelings aroused. Occasional ‘free’ art products are collected during the session. The procedure is discussed and illustrated in terms of the rationale for selection of tasks; the sources of data available on individuals, family characteristics, and family interaction patterns; the relationship of the projective and behavioral data to diagnostic conclusions and treatment recommendations; and the implementation and modifications of the technique within the clinic.

Keith, David V. (1974): Use of Self: A Brief Report. In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 201–206. 

Abstract: One of the effects of crisis in a family is that the members become fixed in rigid attitudes with strong, narrow limits imposed on the free flow of feelings. A way for the family therapist to free up the members of such a system is to introduce his own affect into the structure. A child may be required to help the therapist gain entry.

Hadley, Trevor R., Theodore Jacob, Jake Milliones, Joelle Caplan & Dorothy Spitz (1974): The Relationship between Family Developmental Crisis and the Appearance of Symptoms in a Family Member. In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 207–214. 

Abstract: To assess the relation between family crisis and the onset of symptoms in family members, 90 families in an outpatient facility were studied to determine the elapsed time between the appearance of symptoms and two types of family crisis: addition of a family member and loss of a family member. For each type of crisis, results clearly indicated a significant and positive relationship between family developmental crises and symptom onset. At the same time, it was acknowledged that the strength of this relationship was only moderate, findings were correlational, and conclusions may not be applicable to other samples.

Hubbell, Robert D., Margaret C. Byrne & James Stachowiak (1974): Aspects of Communication in Families with Young Children. In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 215–224. 

Abstract: The subjects for this study were 16, non-pathological, four-person families, each with a child three or four years old and a child six or seven. Half the children were male and half female. The interactions studied involved both parents with one child and then with the other. The content of each remark was studied through a system of language-usage categories. This analysis indicated that older children sent and received a wider variety of messages than younger children did. Also, female children received a higher ratio of positive feedback to negative feedback from parents than males did. Who talks to whom, and who talks the most were also studied. These measures showed the formation of strong same-sex coalitions between parent and child. A number of the findings support a general systems interpretation of family interaction.

Spark, Geraldine M. (1974): Grandparents and Intergenerational Family Therapy. In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 225–237. 

Abstract: Unresolved loyalty conflicts and unsettled accounts between first-and second-generation family members are often projected onto, or lived out, in the marital or parental relationship. An intergenerational treatment focus may yield greater possibilities for constructive and fundamental change in family system.

Shapiro, Rodney J., Lawrence Fisher & William F. Gayton (1974): Perception of Cognitive Ability in Families of Adolescents. In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 239–252. 

Abstract: The families of 20 hospitalized adolescents were compared with a control group of 20 non-pathological families on the accuracy with which family members could predict each others’ performance on two tests of intellectual ability. Accuracy of prediction was measured by the discrepancies between actual scores obtained by each family member and the scores other family members predicted he or she would obtain. The control and experimental groups were found to differ significantly on socioeconomic status and intellectual ability, and when these variables were controlled, a covariance analysis revealed no significant difference between the groups on accuracy of predictions. The results suggest that variables other than psychopathology must be taken into account in explaining apparent differences between healthy and disturbed families on measurements of interpersonal judgments. Implications for research and family therapy are discussed.

Thomas, Peter H. (1974): Review – George Bach and Yetta Bernhard (1973): Aggression Lab: The Fair Fight Training Manual Dubuque, Iowa (Kendall/Hunt Publishing). In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 253–254. 

Allen, Ronald (1974): Review – Thomas Gordon (1970): P.E.T.: Parent Effectiveness Training. New York (Peter H. Wyden). In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 254–254. 

Adler, D.I. & D. L. Adler (1974): Review – Roy H. Rodgers (1973): Family Interaction and Transaction. New Jersey (Printice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs). In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 254–255. 

Peck, Bruce B. (1974): Review – James F. Masterson (1972): Treatment of the Borderline Adolescent: A Developmental Approach. New York (Wiley-Interscience). In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 255–255. 

Kadis, Leslie (1974): Review – Robert L. Noland (Ed.)(1972): Counseling Parents of the Emotionally Disturbed Child. Springfield, Ill. (Charles C. Thomas). In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 256–256. 

Abstracts of Literature.  (1974): In: Family Process, 13 (2), S. 261–263. 


Heft 3

Weakland, John H. (1974): ‘The Double-Bind Theory’ By Self-Reflexive Hindsight. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 269–277. 

Abstract: Since the double-bind theory was first propoundedor, sticking more to simple description, since the original publication by Bateson, Jackson, Haley and me of “Toward a Theory of Schizophrenia” (2)there has been, if not a scientific earthquake, at least a fair amount of commotion largely traceable to this work.

For example: There is this present book, itself only the latest and most considerable of a series of publications relating to the original article. (Many, though not all, of these writings are listed in Olsen’s (4) review.) Such published works are the most substantial evidence of the paper’s impact, or at least the sort of evidence taken most seriously according to scientific and professional conventions of significance. There is also, however, continuing oral discussion of the double bind in the family and psychiatric fields and various utilizations of the idea in treatment of patients. There is even some noticeable entrance of the term “double bind” into everyday language. Such an impact appears rather striking, especially in a time when there is so much scientific research and publication, in addition to an enormous amount of published writings of more general interest. Amid this mass of words, few new ideas create any lasting stirthough many, for related reasons of widespread communication, blaze up and burn out quickly or are preserved only within some devoted but limited cult. Moreover, this impact has not been simple and straightforward, but complex and confusing. Some of the publications provoked by the original article support or extend it, but many oppose itranging from those that purport to disprove “the double-bind theory” to those that reinterpret its relevance rather sweepingly.

Stein, Howard F. (1974): ‘All in the Family’ as a Mirror of Contemporary American Culture. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 279–315. 

Abstract: The television series ‘All in the Family’ is discussed as paradigmatic of contemporary American culture. By exploring the dramas the members of the Bunker household enact, the images and identities they project, and those projected upon them, the dynamics of American culture are delineated. The analysis pursues such dimensions as interpersonal process, generational conflict, identity structure, value conflict, and cultural patterning.

Boyd, Edward, Jonathan Clark, Hyman Kempler, Pierre Johannet, Bonnie Leonard & Peter Mcpherson (1974): Teaching Interpersonal Communication to Troubled Families. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 317–336. 

Abstract: Assumptions family members make about each other exert considerable influence on communication in families. Rigidly held assumptions restrict the flow of information, reinforcing counterproductive behavioral patterns. Combining psychoanalytic and structural components, this paper offers a new approach to family intervention that addresses itself to the exchange of information within troubled families. Groups of families convene for a series of camping weekends. The shared life experience in a recreational setting plus the use of a teaching model help family members to break through rigid conceptualizations of themselves and others. In following the observational model, which slows down and fosters reciprocation in communication, family members pursue the following steps: (a) observe each other; (b) compare notes with a co-observer; (c) share observations with those observed; and (d) receive feedback from the observed.

Garrison, John (1974): Network Techniques: Case Studies in the Screening-Linking-Planning Conference Method. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 337–353. 

Abstract: This article describes a technique for receiving, assessing, planning, linking, and monitoring people in crisis. Called the Screening-Linking-Planning (S-L-P) Conference Method, the technique takes advantage of certain characteristics of people in the heat of crisis that make them particularly amenable to change and allow a care-giver to promote marked positive growth in brief periods of time. The method encourages the social network of the person in crisis to cluster around the person in a supportive way, to make positive expectations, and to provide feedback for identity-repair purposes. The technique has proved effective with persons in acute crisis as well as those who have chosen a career of chronic crisis (i.e., chronic patienthood). A major part of this paper is devoted to case studies describing the application of this technique in a variety of situations.

Ferreira, Antonio J. & William D. Winter (1974): On the Nature of Marital Relationships: Measurable Differences in Spontaneous Agreement. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 355–369. 

Abstract: The Spontaneous Agreement (SA) scores on a lengthened form of the Ferreira-Winter Questionnaire of 242 normal and 177 abnormal couples were compared in a cross-sectional study, taking into account the duration of their marriage. For those couples married a short time, SA did not differ for the two groups. The overall SA was higher for normals, and the longer the normal couples were married, the higher their SA. SA did not increase with duration of marriage for abnormal couples. Both groups had higher SA scores than synthetically matched couples.

Stambler, Morris & Chester Pearlman (1974): Supervision as Revelation of the Pattern: I Ching Comments on ‘The Open Door’. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 371–376. 

Abstract: At a recent literature seminar, we discussed Levenson’s (3) characterization of the history of psychotherapeutic theory according to Kuhn’s paradigmatic model of scientific progress. Levenson traces this development from Freud’s mechanical paradigm, in which therapy aimed to repair the malfunction in the patient’s mental apparatus, through the cybernetic paradigm, in which therapy sought to improve interpersonal communication, to the contemporary structuralist or systems paradigm, in which therapy attempts to elucidate the pattern of interactions in the system. One of us commented on the relevance of this formulation for the supervisory situation. He found conventional supervision helpful but wondered what would happen if he were to consult I Ching about his cases.

Levenson, Edgar (1974): Commentary on Stambler, Morris & Chester Pearlman (1974): Supervision as Revelation of the Pattern: I Ching Comments on ‘The Open Door’. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 371–376. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 376–384. 

Weis, Diane P. (1974): Children’s Interpretations of Marital Conflict. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 385–393. 

Abstract: An experimental study was devised to investigate the proposition that among children of latency age a process evolves of developing conceptual structures for interpreting and resolving interpersonal conflicts. The study was designed within a cognitive-developmental frame of reference drawn heavily from the theory of Jean Piaget. It was hypothesized that there would be developmental differences in the number of factors the children could consider simultaneously and the levels of abstraction they would utilize in conceptualizing and solving problems involving interpersonal conflicts of interest and in explaining their choices of preferred solutions. The three parts of the problem-solving process analyzed were the children’s role-taking skills, solutions to the problem, and general reasoning. Implications for practice are discussed.

Constantine, Larry L. (1974): 2001: Controversy Continues. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 395–396. 

Abstract: It is surprising to many, no doubt, to learn that social work is still extant, but Dr. Chatterjee’s article (2) reassures us all that it continues into the new millenium with the same élan and innovative anachronism that perfused the profession when I first encountered it in my youth. One marvels at the theoretic, to say nothing of semantic, ledgerdemain required to imbed prostitution into psychodynamically oriented social work practice without so much as once calling it by name. Surely now, however, agencies implementing the proposed services to the “sexual underclass” (indeed!) will shrivel in economic detumescence from a lack of clients. The author forgets that prostitution declined precipitously following its legalization in 1983, and, as Montcalm (4) notes, the greatest blow in the first decade of legalization was the drop in middle-age, working-class, male and elderly female clientele. Sex is not the issue; intimacy is. Were sex for sale, no one would buy anymore, and intimacy cannot be bought. It is regretable that Chatterjee neglects both the younger sociologists and the counterculture literature, especially the large-scale, demographic research appearing over the last decade or so in the journal Rough Times and Systems Psychology Review. According to the latest issue, despite the abolition of marriage, 86 per cent of Americans over the age of consent were living in stable, intimate networks, the mean dyadic duration in such networks being 7.1 years. Marriage, not commitment was axed. My daughter’s doctoral dissertation (3), demonstrates unambiguously the prevailing attitude among young people (under 50) to be what Rice (5) described as “polymorphousness with affection.” In detail, Constantine found that most of her young informants were making partner choices on personality and propinquity, specifically ruling out age, physical appearance, ascribed status, and sex as significant factors. To pick but one relevant statistic, the interquartile range of the age of the most recent sexual partners of females 40 years of age in that national probability sample was 16-66 years. Finally, I personally reject the archaic age-ism and physiognomic prejudice inherent in the definition of the “sexual underclass.” My intimate partners of these many years (Joan, who was my legal wife until Lib vs. Connecticut; Roberta Black, the emminent Canadian sociologist, who, incidentally, turns 78 next month; and Able Harquin, who still commutes interstate with his one arm) join me in protest. Fortunately, the majority of people now value intimacy first and artifact last, even as we predicted back in the ’70s. It escapes me where people lacking the skills of intimacy could hide today. If they have forgotten what they learned in the mandatory secondary school curriculum in feelings and communication, they might pick up a copy of Bach (1), now in its sixth edition or drop in at one of Symonds’ (bless his dirty old heart) “Remedial Intimacy Workshops” at the Sensory Awareness Center.

Chatterjee, Anjan (1974): Chatterjee Replies to Larry L. Constantine: 2001: Controversy Continues. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 397–398. 

Abstract: Once upon a time some parents really agonized over the possibility of informing a child that there had never been a Santa Claus. A psychologist and a physician worked very hard during the sixties to persuade women about the myth of the two types of orgasm among females. Yet we find women and children today who truly believe that they are real. The sociology of such true-believing has never been completely explored. I am, therefore, somewhat troubled, since I cannot separate Constantine-the-scientist from Constantine-the-true-believer. For I am prepared to argue over facts with Constantine-the-scientist, the Kantor Professor of Family Systems; but I am rather apprehensive about injuring the tender emotions of Constantine-the-true-believer who is committed to the idea of intimacy. He is accurate in quoting Montcalm (2) about the decline of prostitution. However, Montcalm’s work is mostly a quantitative report in the best tradition of American sociology. Data obtained through a series of interviews are reported here, and the data are indeed excellent. However, a somewhat different conclusion is reached by Anton, who concludes from the same data (1).

Pittman, Frank S. (1974): Review – Paul Watzlawick, John H. Weakland & Richard Fisch (1974): Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution. New York (W. W. Norton). In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 399–400. 

Rabkin, Richard (1974): Review – Edgar A. Levenson (1972): The Fallacy of Understanding: An Inquiry into the Changing Structure of Psychoanalysis. New York (Basic Books). In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 400–401. 

Rosenfield, Sylvia (1974): Review – Robert Friedman (Ed.)(1973): Family Roots of School Learning and Behavior Disorders. Springfield, Ill. (Charles C Thomas). In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 401–402. 

Glick, Ira (1974): Abstracts of Literature. In: Family Process, 13 (3), S. 407–409. 


Heft 4

Slipp, Samuel, Sarah Ellis & Kenneth Kressel (1974): Factors Associated with Engagement in Family Therapy. In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 413–427. 

Abstract: Thirty-eight families who continued in conjoint family therapy were compared on a variety of antecedent variables to 13 families who dropped out. Three potentially important predictors of continuance in family therapy were found: (a) which spouse initiated the search for treatment; (b) the level of authoritarianism in the spouses; and (c) family socioeconomic status. Families that dropped out of treatment tended to be of lower socioeconomic status and contained spouses who had more highly authoritarian attitudes as measured by the California F Scale (1). Families that contained a severly disturbed member had a poor rate of engagement in treatment, but if both spouses in such a family were low in authoritarianism, the engagement rate was 100 per cent. When both spouses initiated the search for treatment, engagement was also nearly perfect. The difficulty in engaging families from the lowest socio-economic class may be attributed partly to the authoritarian attitudes of the husband.

Selvini Palazzoli, Mara, Luigi Boscolo, Gian Franco Cecchin & Giuliana Prata (1974): The treatment of children through brief therapy of their parents. In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 429–442. 

Abstract: This is a report on the successful resolution of behavior problems (encopresis and anorexia, respectively) in two small children through the brief therapy of their parents. Treatment was based on general systems theory and the cybernetic model and employed interventions designed specifically to bring about rapid change in family interaction. The course of the treatments, as well as the technical problems arising out of such rapid changes, are discussed.

Byng-Hall, John & Peter Bruggen (1974): Family Admission Decisions As a Therapeutic Tool. In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 443–459. 

Abstract: The decision admit a disturbed adolescent to a mental hospital is all too often made by a hard-pressed duty psychiatrist, late in the day, but early in his training. The effects of this decision may well reverberate down the generations. At the Unit for younger adolescents at Hill End Hospital, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England (5), the family, not the psychiatrist, makes the decision. This approach is based on the observation that when families eject their youngsters, parental authority is often disintegrating. Referral for admission provides a golden opportunity, not only for reversing the ejection process, but also for forging, on the anvil of a profoundly important decision, a more viable family authority structure. Therapeutic leverage is made available at the very heart of the family problem.

Sander, Fred M. (1974): Freud’s ‘A Case of Successful Treatment by Hypnotism (1892-1893)’: An Uncommon Therapy? In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 461–468. 

Abstract: Freud’s first reported successful treatment by hypnosis included suggestions that have much in common with some recent developments in family systems therapy. The case is discussed within the context of the evolution of psychoanalytic and family systems theories with the view that intrapsychic and contextual forces are not mutually exclusive. The author agrees with Haley in his recent book, Uncommon Therapy, regarding the value of viewing psychiatric symptoms as manifestations of a disturbance in family relations, occurring especially at transitional stages of family development. However, the emphasis on behavior change and symptom removal restricts the potentiality of the family approach to that of psychoanalysis in 1895, when it was a naive, simplistic, and mechanistic therapy.

Peck, Bruce B. (1974): Physical Medicine and Family Dynamics: The Dialectics of Rehabilitation. In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 469–479. 

Abstract: The relation between illness and the rehabilitation process, on the one hand, and family dynamics, on the other hand, is examined. A clinical-casework study conducted in three physical medicine settings generated an appreciation for interpersonal features of the patient’s rehabilitation network. Four recurrent interactional-familial configurations were identified and discussed in terms of core dynamics, the persons involved, and the impact on rehabilitation progress. The phenomenology of disability was observed to be a central element in each of the four interpersonal situations. A dramatic finding was that if the rehabilitation of the disabled family member went sour, it was most frequently a sign that other family members were involved in some uncooperative strategy. Suggestions are made for future research and for more effective ways to involve the family.

Davies, Norma H. & Elaine Hansen (1974): Family Focus A Transitional Cottage in an Acute-Care Hospital. In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 481–488. 

Abstract: The family is traditionally excluded from patient treatment in the hospital. This article describes a unique approach and setting for family inclusion and participation in health care prior to the patient’s hospital discharge.

Marciano, Teresa Donati (1974): Middle-Class Incomes, Working-Class Hearts. In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 489–502. 

Abstract: Studies of middle-class marriages dominate sociological findings. Studies of marital patterns at the blue-collar level are less prominent. A neglected area entirely is that of blue-collar marital patterns in middle-class income and residential settings. This study examines a friendship nucleus of five couples, summarizing case studies of each to show how blue-collar patterns are maintained against the resocializing influence of middle-class income and residence.

Starr, Sheldon (1974): Review – Ingmar Bergman (1974): Scenes from A Marriage. New York (Pantheon Books). In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 503–504. 

Rosenfield, Sylvia (1974): Review – Richard L. Jenkins (1973): Behavior Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence. Springfield, Ill. (Charles C. Thomas). In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 504–504. 

Kramer, Charles H. (1974): Review – Harvey H. Barten & Sybil S. Barten, (Eds.)(1973):Children and Their Parents in Brief Therapy. New York (Behavioral Publications). In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 504–505. 

Zingheim, Patricia K. (1974): Review – Elaine C. Pierson & William V. D’antonio (1974): Female and Male: Dimensions of Human Sexuality. Philadelphia (J. B. Lippincott Company). In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 505–505. 

Kramer, Jeannette R. (1974): Review – Robert Henley Woody & Jane Divita Woody (1973): Sexual, Marital and Familial Relations: Therapeutic Interventions for Professional Helping – with original chapters by Luciano L’Abate & Paul Scauble. Springfield, Ill. (Charles C. Thomas). In: Family Process, 13 (4), S. 505–506. 

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