Includes bibliographical references and index.

1: Beginning Family Therapist: Taking On The Challenge -- Getting started -- Managing anxiety and issues of confidence -- Stages of therapist development -- Obsessing about clinical work -- Dealing with burnout -- Big picture -- Conclusion -- 2: Before The Initial Interview -- Dealing with families' expectations and anxieties about therapy -- Suggestions for initial contact with the client -- What information should be obtained? -- Who should come to therapy? -- Initial hypothesizing -- Conclusion -- 3: Initial Interview -- Stages of intital interview -- Developing a connection: how to join with clients -- Handling administrative issues -- Defining client expectations for therapy -- Building motivation -- Establishing credibility -- Conclusion: First session and beyond -- 4: Guidelines For Conducting Assessment -- Initial assessment -- Potential issues of harm -- Assessing for substance abuse -- Assessing for biological and neurological factors -- General psychosocial assessment -- Conclusion -- 5: Developing A Treatment Focus -- Developing a treatment plan -- Sample treatment plan -- Variables that impact treatment -- Conclusion -- 6: Basic Treatment Skills And Interventions -- Rush to intervention versus developing a relationship -- Basic counseling skills -- Interventions unique to the systemic family therapist -- Becoming more sophisticated in using interventions -- Conclusion -- 7: Working With Families And Children -- Assessment of child and adolescent disorders -- Family interventions when children are the clients -- Family life cycle revisited -- Variations in family development -- Conclusion -- 8: Working With Couples -- Keys to providing solid couple therapy -- Special topics -- When couple therapy might not work -- Conclusion -- 9: When A Family Member Has A Mental Illness -- Individual and family concepts -- Individual diagnosis in a family context -- Depression -- Anxiety -- Alcoholism and drug abuse -- Impulse control disorders -- Conclusion -- 10: Getting Unstuck In Therapy -- Understanding clients' ambivalence about change -- Therapist's reluctance to intervene -- Therapist-client agenda and timing mismatch -- Therapists' lack of theoretical clarity -- Supervision -- Self-supervision questions -- Doing a literature search -- Dealing with cancellations and no-shows -- Difficulty getting other family members to therapy -- Handling secrets -- How agencies contribute to being stuck -- Counter transference: how therapist issues interfere -- Dealing with clients we dislike -- Conclusion: Final reminder -- 11: Termination -- Mutural terminations -- Therapist terminations -- Client terminations -- Conclusion -- 12: Family Therapy In The Future: Pertinent Issues For Beginning Clinicians -- Healthcare reform: implications for you and your clients -- Emerging trends in treatment -- Personal and professional journey of being a therapist -- Conclusion -- References -- Index.

From the Publisher: Readable and concise yet immensely informative, this bestselling text prepares students and new therapists to work confidently and effectively in real-world clinical practice with families. The authors offer wise and compassionate guidance on everything from intake and assessment to treatment planning, the nuts and bolts of specific interventions, the nuances of establishing therapeutic relationships, and how to troubleshoot when treatment gets "stuck." They help the novice clinician navigate typical dilemmas and concerns, and spell out the basics of therapist self-care. Vivid case examples, sample forms, and quick-reference tables enhance the utility of the text. New to This Edition: Updated throughout to reflect current clinical findings and practices. Many new or revised case examples. Now more integrative-shows how to flexibly draw on multiple theories and techniques. New topics, including "Dealing with Clients We Dislike."