Construction of core competencies for family therapists in Taiwan

Abstract

To promote service efficacy and quality, necessary competencies for family therapists have been specified by professional organizations and researchers in some countries; however, these competencies may not be a good ‘fit’ for family therapists in Taiwan. This research reviewed the core competencies proposed by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (US) and the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice in the UK (UK) and proposed the modified Taiwan Family Therapist Core Competencies (TFTCC) for family therapists in Taiwan. The draft then went through two rounds of the Delphi method to further develop it, based on the comments of local family therapy experts and practitioners. As a result, TFTCC were proposed with four domains and forty‐two specific competencies. The distinct characteristics and possible application of TFTCC are discussed, with recommendations for future research and implications. Practitioner points Family therapists in Taiwan can evaluate their current levels of competency based on the TFTCC Trainers can develop programmes based on the TFTCC Supervisors can evaluate their supervisees’ development based on the TFTCC Policymakers can develop professional licensure criteria based on the TFTCC Family therapists, trainers and researchers in other countries can refer to the TFTCC for indigenization of professional core competencies that best suit their local contexts

Teach Self‐Awareness and Self‐of‐the‐Therapist in a Chinese Society: A Class Example at National Taiwan University

“…Furthermore, researchers focused on MFT in Chinese societies declared the need to modify the mostly Western-originated family therapy models to be more sensitive to Chinese values, traditions, family structures, and social and economic influences (Chan et al, 2020;Cheung & Chan, 2002;Deng et al, 2013;Epstein et al, 2012Epstein et al, , 2014Li & Gale, 2018). Chao and Lou (2018), in their article that examines the core competencies for family therapists in Taiwan, reflect on the importance of promoting local therapists' awareness of their own involvement and personal impact on therapeutic relationships. They emphasise the ability to self-reflect and be conscientious about how the personal issues of therapists can be triggered by the client family system in the therapy process.…”

“…They emphasise the ability to self-reflect and be conscientious about how the personal issues of therapists can be triggered by the client family system in the therapy process. The self-of-the-therapist can also be utilised properly and further enhance the therapeutic process (Chao & Lou, 2018).…”

The development of marriage and family therapy in East Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong): past, present and future

“…Chao and Lou () collaborated and consulted with forty local experts and mental health professionals in Taiwan to identify their needs, and then developed core competencies for family therapists in Taiwan based on their findings (i.e. the Taiwan Family Therapist Core Competencies, or TFTCC).…”

“…In adapting the core competencies of the US AAMFT and the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice in the UK, they reorganised these frameworks to match the Taiwanese cultural context, removing items that were not applicable in Taiwan and adding three Taiwan‐specific competencies. These competencies are that practitioners learn to (1) ‘recognize and comprehend cultural norms, beliefs, and customs in local ideas of family and marriage and appreciate cultural differences’; (2) ‘be capable of tolerating tension and conflict; do not hasten to reconcile’; and (3) ‘have insight into/be conscious of how the self can be influenced/impacted by the system in the therapeutic process, and can enhance therapeutic goals’ (Chao and Lou, , p. 15).…”

Covid‐19, race and family therapy

“…Another way in which family therapy remains open to a critique of colonialism is that it remains a discipline largely developed in Europe and the US, yet now is beginning to be taught and applied widely in other parts of the world. Three articles in this edition, as well as Chao and Lou’s recent (2018) paper, offer a window into how practitioners in East Asia are beginning to elaborate local adaptations of family therapy and its application to ensure a cultural fitin these contexts.…”