Religion and the Family

This fascinating book guides family therapists in recognizing the importance of their clients'spirituality or religion to therapy. Experienced therapists demonstrate how to incorporate patients'spiritual beliefs in successful family therapy. Religion and the Family explains how the spirituality of individuals and families can be used as a valuable resource for understanding and healing family problems. Therapists will learn to utilize a couple's or family's particular god-construct as a fundamental part of the treatment system.Through a balanced combination of theory and clinical data, this comprehensive book gives family therapy practitioners and graduate-level students insight into the role of spirituality in therapy. Beginning with a brief historical overview of the relationship between religion and therapy, the book emphasizes the three areas of theory, clinical applications, and research. Family therapists will find important topics applicable to their practice, such as a model for the use of religion in therapy, a model for taking a spiritual genogram, observations about interfaith marriages, and a theory of therapy as spirituality. Graduate-level students, therapists in training, and therapists needing an introduction to religion in therapy will find this a valuable guide for incorporating spiritual and religious factors into treatment systems.

Burton, Laurel A; Clements, William M

I. Introductory Issues, Does 'God' Enter the System?: A Review and Introduction, A Hermeneutical Approach to Religion and Family Therapy, Foundations for a Spiritually Based Psychotherapy, II. Applications, Therapeutic Change in Religious Families: Working With the God-Construct, Spirituality and Systems Therapy: Partners in Clinical Practice, Mixing Oil and Water Religiously: Counseling Interfaith Families, Family Therapy with the Faithful: Christians as Clients, III. Research, Assessing the Role of Religion in Family Functioning, Religion in Family Therapy Journals: A Review and Analysis, Reference Notes Included, Index