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Asian Chinese families are experiencing constant changes. While commonly known cultural themes such as 'face', 'hierarchy', 'harmony' and 'filial piety' are useful references and important caveats in clinical settings, they are most useful when the context of larger socio-economic and political developments of recent decades is taken into account. This article is co-authored by seven experienced Asian therapists from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. They share their insights into working with Chinese families in Asia. In addition to considering cultural dimensions, the authors attempt to consolidate the understanding of Asian Chinese families by focusing on the effects of socio-economic and political development. Other than focusing on the unique characteristics and challenges of working with Chinese families in their region, they highlight the most useful therapeutic stances and approaches when working with Asian Chinese families. Practitioner points Be mindful that changing family structures affect family dynamics, childcentric values and work-life balance., Chinese families expect to receive advice and instruction. Therapists need to be direct and authoritative where appropriate to avoid causing dissatisfaction, Chinese families can be helped to negotiate their emerging needs for the differentiation of self, A possible therapeutic option is use of self and the ability to embrace uncertainty [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fathers' role in assisting the recovery of young Chinese diagnosed with anorexia nervosa has seldom been documented in Chinese contexts, namely Hong Kong and Shenzhen. In this article the author argues for the importance of engaging the absent Chinese father in helping in this context, describing the process of family treatment and highlighting the treatment principles and skills in achieving the goal of helping, illustrating it with two clinical cases from two Chinese cities, Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Practitioner points Engaging the absent father in treatment to join hands with his spouse is crucial to assist a young Chinese person with anorexia nervosa to recover., Translation of the young person's symptoms as a developmental challenge is clinically useful to achieve the goal of paternal engagement., Increased paternal involvement to mediate mother-daughter conflicts, raising the father's self-confidence and improved marital relationships are clinically useful [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]