Este libro trata de las prácticas alienadoras familiares, una modalidad de maltrato infantil especialmente correosa y difícil de combatir, ya que se encuentra en la encrucijada entre la parentalidad y la relación conyugal. Cuando las tormentas que azotan a la relación de pareja alcanzan su mayor intensidad la protección de los hijos queda amenazada. El maltrato parento-filial es el más claro exponente del fracaso del amor como fenómeno relacional complejo propio de la condición humana. Este tipo de maltrato existió desde los orígenes de la especie, pero fue con la llamada revolución neolítica cuándo alcanzó una expansión significativa. La obra se compone de varios bloques temáticos que abordan la parte teórica, las bases para la definición de los fenómenos de alienación familiar, y una descripción de las Prácticas Alineadoras Familiares (PAF) como una alternativa al Síndrome de Alienación Parental (SAP). También se describen casos que ilustran algunas de las ideas centrales del libro y sus aplicaciones en España, Italia, Chile y Perú.

This is the first book to provide objective methods for establishing that a child has been brainwashed by one parent against another. It is based on a ten-year study of 700 cases in the authors' counseling and evaluative work with children of divorced couples.

Demonstrating that children can and are being used by parents in the divorce battle, Children Held Hostage is based on in-depth research involving over 1,000 families. The authors show how parents' negative actions show up in court proceedings where children testify or are questioned by mental health professionals. They address the problem of programmed and brainwashed children by explaining how to identify a child alienated by one parent against the other, prove it in court, and then find a solution that works and that a court will buy into.

This practical breakthrough introduces a robust framework for family and couples therapy specifically designed for working with difficult, entrenched, and court-mandated situations. Using an original model (the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances, or SOFTA) suitable to therapists across theoretical lines, the authors detail special challenges, empirically-supported strategies, and alliance-building interventions organized around common types of ongoing couple and family conflicts. Copious case examples illustrate how therapists can empower family members to discover their agency, find resources to address tough challenges, and especially repair their damaged relationships. These guidelines also show how to work effectively within multiple relationships in a family without compromising therapist focus, client individuality, or client safety. Included in the coverage: Using the therapeutic alliance to empower couples and families Couples’ cross-complaints Engaging reluctant adolescents...and their parents Parenting in isolation, with or without a partner Child maltreatment: creating therapeutic alliances with survivors of relational trauma Disadvantaged, multi-stressed families: adrift in a sea of professional helpers Empowering through the alliance: a practical formulation Therapeutic Alliances with Families offers powerful new tools for social workers, mental health professionals, and practitioners working in couple and family therapy cases with reluctant clients and seeking specific, practical case examples and resources for alliance-related interventions.

The latest theory, research, and practice information for family therapy The last twenty years have seen an explosion of new, innovative, and empirically supported therapeutic approaches for treating families. Mental health professionals working with families today apply a wide range of approaches to a variety of situations and clients using techniques based on their clinically and empirically proven effectiveness, their focus on specific individual and relational disorders, their applicability in various contexts, and their prominence in the field. In this accessible and comprehensive text, each chapter covers specific problems, the theoretical and practical elements of the treatment approach, recommended intervention strategies, special considerations, supporting research, and clinical examples. The contributors provide step-by-step guidelines for implementing the approaches described and discuss particular issues that arise in different couple, family, and cultural contexts. Handbook of Clinical Family Therapy covers treatment strategies for the most common problems encountered in family therapy, including: Domestic violence Adolescent defiance, anxiety, and depression Trauma-induced problems Stepfamily conflicts ADHD disruption Substance abuse in adults and adolescents Couple conflict and divorce Chronic illness A detailed reference for today's best treatment strategies, the Handbook of Clinical Family Therapy brings together the top practitioners and scholars to produce an innovative and user-friendly guide for clinicians and students alike.

A combination of social and economic factors have led to the current surge of interest in brief psychotherapy. But how do the time limitations affect the central relationship between therapist and client? How do therapist and client determine the focus of their work together? How does the therapist deal with ruptures in the working alliance and the pressure of termination issues?