Family Group Therapy in Retrospect: Four Years and Sixty Families

Shellow, Robert S.; Brown, Bertram S.; Osberg, James W.

doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.1963.00052.x

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 4 publications

(9 reference statements)

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“…[5, p. 1172] With regard to patient and treatment variables influencing deterioration and discontinuance in marital and family therapy, the available evidence (28,69,70,72) shows no relationship to severity or chronicity of the disorder alone, although certain therapist styles, described above, increase the chances of premature termination of very disturbed families. What passed for humanistic nonintervention therapy actually seemed to cover implicit acceptance of "lots of women are slapped around by their husbands in our society so it's nothing to be concerned with."…”

Section: What Factors Influence the Occurrence Of Deterioration?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Deterioration in Marital and Family Therapy: Empirical, Clinical, and Conceptual Issues

Gurman

Kniskern

1978

Family Process

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Recent empirical evidence of deterioration during both nonbehavioral and behavioral marital and family therapy is presented. While the frequency of patient worsening in marital-family therapy does not appear to exceed that previously found for individual psychotherapy, the acceptability of the evidence for negative effects in the treatment of systems may be greater than that which exists for individual treatment. After examining the empirical evidence of negative effects in family therapy and some of the factors that influence their occurrence, the authors discuss some conceptual issues relevant to a definition of worsening in marital and family therapy and present some methodological guidelines for the assessment of deterioration in therapy with family systems. It is concluded that the study of deterioration processes in family therapy may aid the understanding of family change processes more generally.

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Section: What Factors Influence the Occurrence Of Deterioration?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Deterioration in Marital and Family Therapy: Empirical, Clinical, and Conceptual Issues

Gurman

Kniskern

1978

Family Process

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“…One could speculate that such factors as counter‐transference, lack of experience, and ambivalence of the therapist in dealing with markedly defensive and resistive family structures, play a role in determining whether families will receive therapy. Shellow et al (16) found, indeed, “a significant relationship between the experience therapists have (with CFT) and the rate of loss (of the family) after only one session.” These factors, of course, are usually not stated in the charts but can be inferred from phrases such as “Conflicting family.” Much of the speculation could be eliminated if the therapists reported more about their personal feelings towards the families. Unfortunately, the present habits of record keeping exclude comments about counter‐transference and the therapists' own practical difficulties, and not enough attention is paid to proper documentation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shellow et al . (16) imply this double natural selection in their statement “those (families) who are ‘allowed’ to continue treatment longest are those families which prove to be interesting to us because of their similarity to the therapist's own middle‐class situation.” Hollingshead et al . (9) have also made clear that “better” patients get better care.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One could speculate that such factors as counter-transference, lack of experience, and ambivalence of the therapist in dealing with markedly defensive and resistive family structures, play a role in determining whether families will receive therapy. Shellow et al (16) found, indeed, "a significant relationship between the experience therapists have (with CFT) and the rate of loss (of the family) after only one session." These factors, of course, are usually not stated in the charts but can be inferred from phrases such as "Conflicting family."…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decision‐Making as to the Choice of Family Therapy in an Adolescent In‐Patient Setting

1971

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“…Shellow, Brown, and Osberg (22), in their retrospective study of sixty families treated in conjoint therapy, categorize the causes of drop-out according to the stated reason, for example: 'family sees sufficient improvement', 'family loses interest', 'father pulls out', 'mother pulls out'. It is quickly seen that this classification is superficial and naive.…”

Section: Family Resistancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Therapy Drop-Outs: Resistance to Change

Solomon

1969

Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal

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This paper presents an analysis of resistance to change in family therapy — a concept central to the understanding of drop-outs. The resistances used were categorized as Resistance to Therapy, Resistance to Interaction and Family Specific Resistances. Family behaviour was conceptualized as governed by homeodynamic patterns, self-reinforcing modes of interaction in which the primary emphasis is on the preservation of stability. Five families who dropped out of therapy after up to 17 sessions were described in detail. They had consulted for psychiatric symptoms presented by one or more children, and were treated by the author in weekly conjoint family sessions. The dynamic interplay of resistance and change was apparent in all five cases where family members resisted working through the marital conflict, and disrupted treatment when imminent change in the husband-wife relationship was perceived as a threat to family stability. The discussion dealt with the crucial role of the parental couple's strengths and weaknesses as a prognostic indicator, the importance of re-assessing treatment goals after the family is fully engaged in therapy, and the role of the therapist in provoking drop-out. In addition, the drop-outs were compared to families who remained in therapy.

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Family Group Therapy in Retrospect: Four Years and Sixty Families

Cited by 12 publications

References 4 publications

Deterioration in Marital and Family Therapy: Empirical, Clinical, and Conceptual Issues

Deterioration in Marital and Family Therapy: Empirical, Clinical, and Conceptual Issues

Decision‐Making as to the Choice of Family Therapy in an Adolescent In‐Patient Setting

Family Therapy Drop-Outs: Resistance to Change

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