Main description:

Becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist is a practical "how to" guide designed to help trainee therapists successfully bridge the gap between classroom and consulting room. Readers will learn how to apply empirically-based methods to the core tasks of therapy in order to improve competency, establish effective supervision, and deliver successful client outcomes. * A practical guide to improving competency across the core tasks of therapy, based on over 40 years of observation and teaching by an internationally acclaimed author * Presents treatment protocols that show how to apply therapy task guidelines to a range of empirically-supported marriage and family treatments * Provides extended coverage on assessing and beginning treatment with crisis areas such as suicidal ideation, and family violence with children, elders, and spouses * Suggests how supervisors can support trainees in dealing with crisis and other challenging areas, to build competence and successful delivery

Contents:

List of Figures, Tables, and Boxes ix About the Author xi Foreword xiii Acknowledgments xvii Part I 1 Becoming a Competent Marriage and Family Therapist 3 2 Basic Therapist Skills 17 3 The Initial Phone Call and Assessing Clients Complaints and Goals 63 4 Establishing a Treatment Plan and Delivering the Planned Treatment 85 5 Evaluating Adherence to the Treatment Plan and Evaluating Treatment Outcomes 109 6 Terminating Therapy 135 Part II Protocols for SelectedModels ofMarriage and Family Therapy: Delivering Evidence-Based Treatments Introduction to Part II 147 7 Protocol for Conducting Gottman Method Couple Therapy 149 8 Protocol for Conducting Emotionally-Focused Therapy with Couples 195 Notes 217 Appendix A Person of the Therapist Checklist 219 Appendix B Therapist Self-Soothing Procedures 221 Appendix C Standard Assessment Battery for Marital Relational Problems 223 Appendix D Written Case Progress Notes 235 Appendix E Observations of the Couples Communication and Problem-solving Behaviors Therapist s Rating Form Based on Gottman (1999) 237 Appendix F Clinical Experience Log 239 Appendix G Preparing aWritten Treatment Plan 241 AppendixH Written Treatment Summary 247 Appendix I Therapy Tailoring Skills Rating Form 249 Appendix J Homework Success: Therapist Guidelines 251 Appendix K Preparation for Supervision Checklist: Couples 253 References 257 Index 285