CONFERENCE: The 9th Congress of the European Federation of Sexology, Rome Italy 13–17 April 2008

By Paul Andrews . Volume 29 Issue Number 3.

The Delicate Scientist Practitioner

By Nick Drury. Volume 27 Issue Number 4. [PDF format - 122KB]
This paper offers an alternative understanding of the 'scientist-practitioner' in clinical practice. The 'dodo bird' hypothesis or 'common factors' findings suggest that the specific technique of a particular treatment protocol, whether supported or not by empirical validation, are not as important as feedback to the clinician as to whether this particular treatment is working or not. A new philosophy of science and cognition suggests that 'know-how' and 'withness-knowledge' is of more importance than any 'know-that' or 'aboutness' knowledge. 200 years ago Goethe suggested a method of science that was more focused on performativity than representationalism, which is being discovered again by postmodern science and philosophy. This model of science combined with Levinas' call for an ethics first approach can provide an alternative to the move towards treatment manuals.

Introducing Evidence Based Family Assessment and Therapy in Child and Youth Mental Health Services. Applying Systemic Principles to Maintain, Sustain and Build Capacity

By Ingrid Wagner, Glenn Munt and Peta Briner. Volume 27 Issue Number 4. [PDF format - 193KB]
The purpose of this paper is to overview the context of the mental health service in which we work, and family therapy's status prior to and after the impact of changes wrought by the introduction of the National Mental Health Policy. We then explore some key issues that we think contribute to the persistence of the occlusion of family therapy in child psychiatric services; and the strategies that we developed and are continuing to develop to support change. Finally, we describe the use of a family assessment instrument that we believe is central to our change strategy.

Family Therapy Practitioners Researching the Reactions of Practitioners to an Outcome Measure

By Peter Stratton, Marie McGovern, Annette Wetherell and Carol Farrington. Volume 27 Issue Number 4. [PDF format - 149KB]
Family therapy is under increasing pressure to use 'objective' measures of effectiveness, but there are strong voices in the field objecting to such research. The primary objective of this project was to investigate the acceptability and perceived potential usefulness of a short self-report questionnaire. A secondary objective was to explore the viability of conducting such research by a group of practitioners who would collaborate primarily through emails.

Case-Based Research in Family Therapy

By Frank Dattilio. Volume 27 Issue Number 4. [PDF format - 99KB]
Traditionally, case-based research has not been considered as scientific by many in the field due to the lack of controlled conditions and objectivity. However, case-study material may be more effective than once believed in educating family therapists. Future implications of the role of case studies in family therapy research are considered, including the manner in which case studies might be designed to be more rigorous so that they can serve as the basis for drawing causal inferences in clinical cases, and at the same time, provide family therapists with useful information to improve their skills. A discussion section highlights the future direction of case-based research in the family therapy literature and how it may be used as an effective learning tool.

South Australia's First Family Therapist: Jeff Gerrard Remembers: An Interview

By Lorraine Read. Volume 27 Issue Number 4. [PDF format - 106KB]
Jeff Gerrard can claim the distinction of being the first family therapist in South Australia. Early on in his career as a psychiatrist he explored the growing field of psychotherapy overseas and observed, studied and trained with some of the historical greats in the area. When he returned to South Australia in the early 70s, it seems to have been a natural step for him to begin practising family therapy and training other health professionals in the theory and practice of family therapy. The early training that Jeff led at the South Australian Children's Hospital enabled a cooperation between a number of early family therapists such as Michael White and Anne Sved Williams, to train the first cohort of people who would later go on to become significant contributors to the family therapy field in Australia. In this interview, Lorraine Read invites Jeff to explore his early contributions to the field and to discuss the training and supervision experiences which were/are important in his development as a family therapist.

Editorial: Epistemology

By Alistair Campbell. Volume 27 Issue Number 4. [PDF format - 61KB]

In Brief: Coming Events, Jottings and Announcements

Volume 27 Issue Number 4. [PDF format - 53KB]

Annual Index

Volume 27 Issue Number 4. [PDF format - 59KB]

Letters to the Editors

By Glenn Larner. Volume 27 Issue Number 4. [PDF format - 42KB]