This post includes brief summaries of four articles, and two books I read recently. Three articles are from 2017, and one article is from 2019. I found the articles from 2017 as I researched topics for a few classes I was teaching last fall.

All articles are from the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. As a MFT, I always start my research in this journal.

My regular disclaimer for these posts is: While MFTs are referenced throughout the summaries, the information is relevant to all psychotherapists, regardless of discipline.

The original articles are linked in each summary. To access the articles if you’re an AAMFT member, go to this page. If you’re not an AAMFT member, search the title wherever you have access to databases. (Oftentimes, therapists have access to databases via their graduate colleges and universities.)

The State of Sex Research in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT)

The authors summarize studies showing that MFTs “shy away” from addressing sexual issues with clients, due to a lack of training and sense of competence in the area. COAMFTE accredited programs, in general, were shown to address human sexuality and sexual health less often than sexual diversity and sensitivity. The purpose of this analysis was to understand the quality, quantity, and topics of “sexual research” being published in MFT and family studies journals. The researchers found that less than .01 percent of the articles addressing sexuality were focused on sexuality in relationships or sex therapy. The authors advocate for the integration of couple and sex therapy, and present the opportunity for MFT researchers to specifically study sexuality within the context of relationships.

Jones, A. C.,  Johnson, N. C., Wenglein, S., & Elshershaby, S. T.  (2019). The state of sex research in MFT and family studies literature: A seventeen-year content analysis.  Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 45(2), pp. 275-295.

A Contextual Therapy Framework for MFT Educators

Theoretical frameworks for training are not often addressed in MFT literature. The authors of this article go beyond addressing trainer-trainee relationships from a Contextual lens; they offer behavioral steps faculty and trainers can employ in order to remain in the realm of relational ethics with students and trainees. The authors present examples of I-Thou responsiveness, holding oneself accountable in the moment, and multi-directed partiality. 

As a relatively new faculty member, I often consider my interactions with students, including responses in class and how I maintain boundaries. The authors affirmed that awareness is essential in ethically relating to students.  Our relational responsibilities in the faculty role often intersect with our past and present relational tendencies. The authors give relational options for navigating challenging student interactions.

Sude, M. E., & Gambrel, L. E.  (2017). A Contextual Therapy framework for MFT educators: Facilitating trustworthy asymmetrical training relationships.  Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(4),  pp. 617-630.

Processes That Inform Multicultural Supervision

Multicultural supervision is defined, by these researchers, as supervision that considers a variety of cultural matters for clients of “diverse backgrounds.”  The researchers identified five meta-categories, with several “meaning units,” or themes, found to be significant within each category. The categories include: the supervisor’s multi-directed stance, the supervisee’s mutli-cultural encounters, fostering multicultural knowledge, competency-based content of supervision, processes surrounding multicultural supervision, culturally attuned interventions and skills, and the multicultural supervisory alliance. The categories are meant to help supervisors evaluate their efforts, skills, and outcomes in facilitating multicultural supervision.

Tohidian, N. B., & Quek, K. M. (2019). Processes that inform multicultural supervision: A qualitative meta-analysis. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(4), pp. 573-590.

Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy For Parents Raising A Child With An Autism Spectrum Disorder

The researchers recruited seven couples with a child identified as living with ASD while also reporting relationship problems. The couples completed 12 sessions of EFT with a female graduate student, during live supervision. Videos of sessions were reviewed for EFT fidelity, requiring a minimum of 80% statement fidelity; the analysis resulted in 82% fidelity. All couples reported improvement at the completion of treatment, as well as increased improvement at 6 month follow-up. This study replicated results previously published by Gordon-Walker et al. (1996) on EFT’s effectiveness for couples with chronically ill children. Main themes reported by couples included: Parental demands interrupting emotional connection, struggling to “find a new normal,” and “alienation and isolation.” This study further affirms EFT as a theory of choice for couples parenting children with a chronic condition.

Lee, N. A., Furrow, J. L., Bradley, B. A. (2017). Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy for parents raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(4), pp. 662-673.

From the book club

The following books were book club selections in late 2019. In the book club, we read therapy, personal development and business books that have application to therapists’ personal and professional lives.

Love Worth Making

Using humor, stories, and a variety of theories--attachment, psychoanalysis, and Bowen, among others, Stephen Snyder writes both to the lay person and the clinician in this book. He presents sexuality discussions as essential for clients in psychotherapy, as sexuality is often connected to human beings’ sense of self and wellbeing. Snyder takes on conventional wisdom in sex therapy training, by telling his clients, “if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it,” and at the same time affirming techniques such as Sensate Focus. He also encourages all therapists to delve into their clients’ sexual lives, and to trust that they have appropriate training.

Snyder, S. (2018).  Love worth making: How to have ridiculously great sex in a long-lasting relationship. New York, NY: St. Martin Press.

Talking To Strangers

Malcolm Gladwell presents research and ideas relevant to our interactions with strangers, as well as how we interpret the behavior of strangers. While not a therapist, Gladwell’s mother is a marriage and family therapist. His history with systems theory could be deduced by reading his books, due to his keen systemic observations and conclusions. The most applicable concepts from this book to our work as MFTs are: default to truth, and coupling. 

Gladwell explains that all human beings “default to truth” when interacting with strangers—we automatically attribute honesty. He also establishes the fact that behaviors, like inebriation and suicide (as well as suicidality) are coupled; that is, they are tied to place and time. In the case of suicidality, this means that the choice, or temptation, is fleeting.

Gladwell, M. (2019). Talking to strangers. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Let’s Chat

• Which of the above resources will you add to your reading list?

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