Here is a remarkable new volume for understanding the interrelatedness of the primary family group and the formed therapeutic group. Multiple family therapy is a special type of group practice that involves the members of several families meeting together with a professional to work on common family concerns. Rosemary Cassano, acclaimed for her qualitative research on multiple family group therapy, has produced an exciting volume that reflects the diversity of client populations and patterns and processes in these groups. Social Work With Multi-Family Groups reveals to the professional what actually goes on in the process of group interactions and practitioner interventions. In this state-of-the-art volume, social workers set forth a specific and careful definition of multiple family practice and examine the successful use of multi-family groups with families with child-labeled problems, institutionalized elderly suffering from physical and cognitive impairments and their family members, patients with life-threatening illness and their families, and several other support groups. Each of the practical examples illustrates how professionals can design helping systems for their clients that combine both professional and peer help and activate the help that is embedded in each client’s own family.

This volume presents a proven psychoeducational therapy approach for persons with severe mental illness and their families. Pioneering schizophrenia treatment developer William R. McFarlane first lays out the theoretical and empirical foundations of the multifamily model. Chapters coauthored with other leading clinician-researchers then provide detailed "how-to" instructions for forming groups; implementing educational and problem-solving interventions; managing clinical, relationship, and functional issues that may arise; and integrating psychoeducation with other forms of treatment. Also addressed are applications of the model--some described here for the first time--to a variety of disorders other than schizophrenia, including bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, and medical illness.

Multi-Family Therapy (MFT) involves the bringing together of different families in a therapeutic context in order to work jointly to overcome each of their specific and very individual problems. This innovative book combines the theory and concepts of MFT with detailed practical examples of techniques and exercises which have been proven to help with problematic children, teenagers and adults. In this book, Asen and Scholz discuss how MFT has been developed over the past 30 years and has been applied nationally and internationally across a range of settings with a variety of clients, including: Children and teenagers who are excluded from school; Multi-problem families with abuse and violence who challenge social workers and the legal system; and Children, teenagers, and adults who present with mental health issues. "Multi-Family Therapy: Concepts and Techniques" is written for professionals in mental health, social work, and education. Its unique pragmatic approach makes it an essential guide for anyone wishing to employ MFT.

Over 50 bibliotherapy references are also provided along with material related to building resilient families and youth. In addition, readers are given a sample of a multiple family group contract, documentation notes, and a session by session planning sheet. Professionals will be amazed at how much time this text will save them. The book will quickly become a daily resource manual which will assist in more easily planning and facilitating these treatment groups."--Jacket.

Multi-Family Therapy (MFT) involves the bringing together of different families in a therapeutic context in order to work jointly to overcome each of their specific and very individual problems. This innovative book combines the theory and concepts of MFT with detailed practical examples of techniques and exercises that have been proven to help with problematic children, teenagers and adults. In this book Asen and Scholz discuss how MFT has been developed over the past 30 years and has been applied nationally and internationally across a range of settings with a variety of clients, including: Children and teenagers who are excluded from school Multi-problem families with abuse and violence who challenge social workers and the legal system Children, teenagers and adults who present with mental health issues. Multi-Family Therapy: Concepts and Techniques is written for professionals in mental health, social work and education. Its unique pragmatic approach makes it an essential guide for anyone wishing to employ MFT.

Multifamily Therapy Group for Young Adults with Anorexia Nervosa describes a new and innovative family-centered outpatient Multifamily Therapy Group (MFTG) approach called Reconnecting for Recovery (R4R) for young adults with anorexia nervosa that is based on a relational reframing of eating disorders. Developed in concert with young adults and their families and informed by clinical observations, theory, and research, R4R is designed to help young adults and family members learn the emotional and relational skills required to avoid or repair relationship ruptures for continued collaboration in recovery. The book begins with an overview of anorexia nervosa, MFTG treatment approaches, and the development of R4R and moves into a session by session review of R4R including session goals, exercises and handouts. Protocols, case vignettes, and other materials help translate the theory and research underlying this multifamily therapy group model into practice. This treatment manual provides readers with explicit guidance in how to develop and conduct an outpatient R4R MFTG and a deeper understanding of the nature, purposes, and processes that characterize one.

Family and marital therapies are rapidly becoming highly used methods of treatment of mental disorders and are no longer ancillary methods to individual psychotherapy. The last few decades have brought about an increasing awareness of the fact that, excluding organic etiology, practically all mental disorders are caused, fostered, and/or related to faulty interpersonal relations. As a rule, the .earlier in life one is exposed to noxious factors, the more severe is the damage. Thus, early child-parents' and child-siblings' interactions are highly relevant determinants of mental health and mental disorder. Moreover, parents themselves do not live in a vacuum. Their marital interaction significantly contributes to their own mental health or to its decline, and parent-child relationships are greatly influenced by the nature of intraparental relationships. Parental discord, conflicts, and abandonment affect the child's personality development. Thus, family and marital therapy is more than therapy; it is an important contribution to the prevention of mental disorder. The present volume is comprised of three parts. The first, primarily theoretical, analyzes the fundamental aspects of marital and family therapy. The second part describes the various therapeutic techniques and the last deals with several specific issues. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge my gratitude to my coeditor, Dr. George Stricker. Without his thorough and devoted efforts, this volume could not have come into being. I am also profoundly indebted to our consulting editors, Dr. James Framo, Dr.