Medical family therapy: an emerging arena for family therapy

Abstract

This paper describes an important recent development in American family therapy. Medical family therapy uses a biopsychosocial systems model to work with families who have a member with a chronic illness or disability. The authors maintain that family therapy has tended to embrace the mind–body split and to view itself too narrowly as a mental health specialty. Medical family therapists work collaboratively with physicians and other health professionals to help families achieve a sense of agency and communion in facing some of the greatest challenges that life brings.

Psycho-Oncological Interventions and Psychotherapy in the Oncology Setting

“…Examples of scientifically evaluated systemic therapies in the medical and oncology setting are the Medical Family Therapy (Doherty et al 1994) and the Family-Focused-Grief Therapy (FFGT), a preventive intervention for high-risk families (Kissane et al 2006). FFGT is based on the assumption that the family is the primary provider of care for the terminally ill patient and that the type of functioning of the family is essential for the patient (Kissane et al 1996a, b).…”

Medical Family Therapy: A Theoretical and Empirical Review

“…While clinicians were already practicing MedFT in the 1980s (Ruddy and McDaniel 2003), it was not until the early 1990s that the practice was introduced into western literature formally (Doherty et al 1994;McDaniel et al 1992a). McDaniel et al's primer text, Medical Family Therapy was published in 1992 providing the first working definition, description, and text about MedFT.…”

Expanding Our Reach: Marriage and Family Therapists in the Public School System

“…As the Medical Family Therapy model evolved through the 1970's and 1980's to be officially defined in the 1990's (Doherty, McDaniel, & Hepworth, 1994), so too has School-Based Family Therapy been evolving over time. Over the years, MFTs have partnered with schools to improve child and family outcomes through multiple avenues (as contractors, duallicensed school mental health employees, and interns).…”