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This paper reports the results of a follow-up study with maritally conflicted alcoholics and their spouses who had experienced group counseling with other couples with similar difficulties. It reports a number of limited comparisons of the effectiveness of group versus individual counseling and comments on the possible complementarity of these approaches when reed jointly. It analyzes comments on the various areas in which the clients feel they were helped and the particular aspects of counseling which they feel enabled them to be helped. These comments implicitly indicate that marriage counselors working with such couples in the same group can help an appreciable proportion of them to make positive gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of an experimental association of a marriage counselor with four obstetrician-gynecologists in their office and their private medical practice. The reasons for the physicians' need for counseling help, the function of the counselor, and the practical physical and personal arrangements of the association are described. The advantages of this arrangement are detailed, including better rapport because of personal introductions, reduced loss of referred patients, and better counselor-physician communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article presents information on the new emphases, especially the development of the concept of the family as a unit in treatment, and indicating how that concept may be related to casework with parents in child guidance. The term "family unit treatment" as used in this paper does not refer to a specific procedure or structure for providing service, such as conjoint interviewing or the use of the same worker for varied family members, but rather to an orientation, the central concept of which is the recognition that the psychopathology of any member of a family affects and is affected by the interaction of the whole family and that constructive psychological change can therefore be achieved most economically by focusing therapeutic effort on the whole family. The National Institute of Mental Health has long been involved in research in family dynamics, emphasizing initially an intensive study of families of a small group of schizophrenic patients and extending to studies involving a random sample of newly married young couples in the stages of courtship, early married life, and the first pregnancy.

This paper surveys the recently emerging fields of marital and family therapy in terms of their developments in research, theory and clinical practice. The parallel, but unrelated, developments of these two fields are described. A system framework was developed for categorizing the various clinical approaches in marital and family therapy. Neither field has yet developed a solid theoretical base nor tested their major assumptions or principles. However, both fields have recently become more concerned about conceptual and methodological issues. Several ways of bridging the professional gap between therapists and researchers are suggested. Recommendations for interdisciplinary borrowing are indicated and exemplary projects giving new direction to the fields are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the development of interest in family diagnosis and family therapy in the fields of social work and psychiatry. A theoretical basis is presented for an understanding of the family as an organization for the satisfaction of maintenance and developmental needs. It is pointed out that no classification system of family pathology has been developed so far and that, in consequence, a family diagnosis in the technical sense is still impossible. Family treatment, however, produced a new group phenomenon, the family as a therapeutic work group with a significant redistribution of therapeutic roles. Specific personality requirements for family therapists are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assumption that the family as an institution is experiencing a continuous and rapid loss of functions is challenged. Instead, the institution is seen as assuming newsets of responsibilities in the areas of sexual intercourse, recreation, and therapeutic services. These responsibilities are conceptualized as new roles in the positions of parent and spouse. The reverse process is seen in the decline of the norms ascribing housekeeper and kinship duties to family members. Initial data from a sample of 210 couples, parents of children in the third grade, provide support for the above thesis of changes in the family institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unique method of family counseling is described in which several families meet together and discuss their intra-family concerns. A rationale for the method based on the following needs is presented: (I) need for better understanding between individuals, (2) need for reduction of cultural encapsulation, (3) need for individual expression of affection and positive regard, and (4) need for greater openness in individuals. A detailed description is given of the process involved in the family group counseling method. Its effectiveness as a counselor training medium is briefly developed. General outcomes of the process and a specific example of counseling-in-process are related. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the possible implications of family group therapy in music therapy and other mental health professions. According to the author, music therapists are needed to provide mental health service in communities which is covered on the concept of family group therapy. The author adds that the change in the concept of mental health and illness will likely affect the practice and focus of music therapy.

The family therapy approach to psychological disorders in children is distinguished from traditional therapy approaches on the basis of (1) viewing the child's symptomatic behavior as representative of disturbed family relationships and (2) emphasis on parental responsibility and involvement in the therapeutic process. The significance of the family approach for developing ill new ways of conceptualizing psychopathology within the child is discussed, and some aspects of the therapeutic task are delineated. The therapist is portrayed as an active teacher whose main concern is that of inducing change in the family's rigid and stereotyped pattern of interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family group is discussed with respect to developmental and structural characteristics. Some basic proposition: are presented which it is hoped will serve as guidelines for more precise formulations. The major assumptions derived from these propositions and their implications for conducting family group therapy are discussed. Disturbed families are viewed as being unable to adopt a flexible approach to solving problems and as being highly resistant to any attempt to change their patterns of intrafamilial interactions and relationships. The family group therapy process is described as consisting of two phases, evaluation and change, with no clear separation between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conjoint family therapy in the home takes on some new dimensions which are not as clearly seen in the office, clinic, or hospital. The family is in its natural habitat and the therapists are the intruders. This type of therapy has crystallized some new concepts of family functioning in therapy, including the role of the absent member, the most disturbed family member, the youngest member of the family unit, the role of pets, the function of family secrets, and the role of some elements of the larger society in maintaining the family pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses four cases of family therapy in pediatrics in Los Angeles, California. Practices of family interviewing and family therapy; Development of skills by family therapists; Training of pediatricians in family therapy; Application of skills in areas of child behavior, parent and child interaction and psychiatric referral.

The article features a study on mental health and mental illness, by physicians, Goodrich, Ryder, and Raush. The author points out that treatment therapy is possible, if factors causing mental illness could be assessed. Since the study of mental illness, has been limited, scientific research on this front is appreciated and encouraged. However, the methodology, variables and statistical analysis involved in its research are usually complex and often reqire interpretation by experts. The author concludes that a deeper study of marital relations and family structure would equip researchers with better understanding of the incidence of mental illness.

The article reports that the Mental Research Institute of Palo Alto, California, will conduct a course in conjoint family therapy from September 4-14, 1968, for psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers. The course will include family theory, assessment, and therapy.

The article presents a comment of the author Joachim Flescher. Because of the criticism he received, he was provoked to react that the future of the society depends on people's ability to help the children achieve emotional maturity, hence, is not influenced by any other factor. He elaborates that the genetic method is not a new form of family therapy but one of individual therapy.