Reaching Out in Family Therapy

This volume provides the skills practitioners need to conduct family therapy sessions in the home, school, and community. The authors demonstrate how meetings outside of the traditional office setting can enable therapists to intervene actively in the various systems that affect clients' lives. This multisystems approach can be particularly useful when working with poor and ethnic minority families, whose support networks may include extended family, school personnel, and members of the "church family." Practitioners learn how to utilize out-of-office sessions to meet the people who are influential in clients' lives; observe the life realities of children, adolescents, and parents; and identify resources that can be mobilized to produce change. Detailed strategies are presented to help families navigate the overlapping demands of multiple agencies and institutions and to manage and prevent such problems as substance abuse, school drop-out, and child abuse. Throughout, therapeutic and ethical guidelines are illustrated by extensive clinical case material. The book is ideal for those already doing home-based work, as well as those who would like to incorporate it into their practice.