Ecologically Oriented Family Intervention

Abstract

An ecological approach to family therapy is relevant for all social classes, not only for the poor. Examples of this orientation are presented in this paper.

Psychology and the status quo.

“…Conservative psychiatrisÈs, such as Szasz (I963, L965, 1974Szasz (I963, L965, , 1984 and Wood (1986) (Jacoby, 1975;Mannino & Shore, 1984t PosÈer, I978¡ Wineman,19g4 (Glenn & Kunnes, 1973, p. 109 taing's writings (Laing, 1969, Laing & Esterson, 1974 as well as the others' reviewed above contributed to Èhe momentun necessary for a paradign shift in abnorÍìal psychology. Laing ardently denounced the nedical model whereby people examined "heads, bIood, urine, or...sorne pathology exclusively 'in, the 'psyche"' (Laing, 1969, (Jacoby, 1975, p. 136).…”

Family Therapy Training for Paraprofessionals in a Community Mental Health Center

“…This approach is concerned with how people manage psychological, as well as concrete, issues of daily living with one another at home and in their community (30, 34, 37, 50). Ecological family therapists are more than just client advocates.…”

“…In assessing the abilities of paraprofessionals, professional trainers can err both by failing to recognize native skills as well as by ignoring handicaps. It is a pitfall automatically to confer competence upon “indigenous workers” for fantasied mythical qualities and not to recommend the intensive training required to convert natural abilities into clinical skills (28, 43, 50). Recent literature highlights the value of on‐the‐job training in systems techniques (7, 13) to teach paraprofessionals to become ecologically oriented family therapists (50).…”

“…The theoretical orientation of the trainer is the ecologically oriented family systems approach (6,7,25,34,36,50) in which the focus moves from the "figure" (the individual client or even nuclear family unit) to "the ground" (the social network in which it is embedded). The author views problems as consisting of repetitive dysfunctional patterns arising among family members as they respond to internally or externally generated stresses.…”

“…When problem-solving efforts fail to eliminate the difficulties and resistant patterns form, intervention must be aimed at the repeated attempted solutions and at the structure that maintains these patterns, whether at the level of family pathology or misguided agency intervention. This approach is concerned with how people manage psychological, as well as concrete, issues of daily living with one another at home and in their community (30,34,37,50). Ecological family therapists are more than just client advocates.…”