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Family violence is becoming increasingly visible in Australia, with many state and federal governments taking on more responsibility to address family violence and its impacts on those affected. Current efforts are focused on practice frameworks, identifying and responding to risk factors, and social justice frameworks including legislating against family violence in a range of jurisdictions and addressing more broadly the structural and cultural forces that perpetuate violence and further oppress those victimised. Family violence is not unique to Australia, with prevalence rates internationally suggesting family violence occurs irrespective of country, race, age, culture, effectiveness of social policies or socioeconomic status. This paper explores relevant foundational concepts of Bowen family systems theory (BFST) as it relates to family violence and explores opportunities to evolve practice in this area. BFST offers a unique contribution towards addressing family violence, particularly in relation to the public health challenge of addressing family polyvictimisation. The paper also explores how BFST conceptualises family violence and the role of the professional in working with the family as a single emotional unit. The unique focus of BFST on observing and defining self within the emotional family unit through observation of the underlying multigenerational emotional patterns of functioning provides unique opportunities to evolve and develop both the capacity of clinicians and responses to families who are navigating the serious and challenging impacts of family violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treating anorexia nervosa is one of the greatest challenges faced by current health policies. This paper reflects on the social and cultural aspects of this type of eating disorder and proposes an intervention approach based on narrative therapy as a complement to existing treatments. This type of therapy requires a holistic and coordinated vision of the socio‐cultural and community aspects that surround both the person dealing with anorexia and their closest social circle of friends and family. The effects of anorexia, when it becomes the dominant voice in a person's narrative, need to be understood within a broader and more inclusive social context without putting all the responsibility on the person who is being bullied by anorexia. Based on the qualitative results of the Archive of Resistance presented by the Anti‐Anorexia League, narrative therapy is shown to have great potential for transforming the current approach to treating anorexia in English. This paper recommends use of the poststructuralist approach of narrative therapy to collaborate with the person affected by anorexia in Spanish‐speaking cultures. At the same time, it opens a discussion on the need to establish a document database, an Archive of Resistance, in Spanish, to help mitigate the effects of anorexia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like many family therapists today my approach to therapy can be described as integrative; it utilises various therapy frameworks and models and combines individual and family therapy approaches in response to the needs of clients and the nature of the work. This paper begins with a brief professional retrospective that illustrates the integrative therapy challenge. It then describes integrative therapy as systemic in the sense of bringing together multiple conversations about therapy based on the idea of an ethic of hospitality. Integration as an ethics of practice is grounded in a finely honed attunement between therapist and client as well as an openness to considering multiple perspectives and frameworks of therapy. This is discussed in relation to the contemporary family therapy literature and illustrated by a practice example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terms 'Single‐Session Therapy' (SST) and 'One‐At‐A‐Time' (OAAT) therapy are both used to indicate a situation where the therapist and client set out with the expressed intention of helping the client in one session while acknowledging that additional sessions are available to the client. Both terms have their advantages and disadvantages and thus the author uses the blended term 'Single‐Session One‐At‐A‐Time' (SST/OAAT) therapy to highlight the advantages of both. It is a core feature of SST/OAAT therapy that it is client‐centred especially where the session's focus and goal are concerned. However, in an attempt to avoid SST/OAAT therapy being highjacked by therapists who operate from the 'expert' source of influence, the field has downplayed the contribution of the therapist's expertise. In this paper, I make clear that the expertise of the therapist when allied to the expertise of the client can be a potent force for good in SST/OAAT therapy. My main task, however, is to outline my own approach to SST/OAAT therapy which is a blend of general principles that are likely to be held by the majority of SST/OAAT therapist and specific ideas that are derived from working alliance theory, pluralism and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single session therapy (SST) postulates that one session can be sufficient for a client to take charge of the process and work toward their own solutions. Research has been conducted worldwide corroborating SST assumptions with several mental health conditions, but not in Italy. For the first time in Italy, this paper aims to explore: (1) if the most frequent number of sessions in traditional psychotherapy (not SST) is one (Study 1); and (2) the satisfaction of clients who attend SST services and the number who consider one session sufficient to address their presenting problem (Study 2). In Study 1, the records of 476 voluntary clients referred to three different traditional (not SST) psychological services in the west‐central region of Latium, Italy, were retrospectively screened, and the number of sessions attended by each client recorded. In Study 2, 85 consecutive clients who voluntarily asked for SST with seven mental health professionals across Italy received a link to an online ad hoc survey, 1–3 weeks after the consultation, evaluating their experience. Study 1 found that the most frequent number of traditional psychotherapeutic (not intentionally SST) sessions was one (124 out of 476 clients (26%). Study 2 found that 44 out of 85 clients (52%) considered one session to be enough, as they felt better or much better and chose not to attend further sessions. Of those who asked for a second session (41 clients), 33 clients (80.5%) indicated that the first session was not enough and 8 clients (19.5%) wanted to address a new problem. These results converge with previous international studies and provide encouragement for the use of SST in both private and public psychological services to address the demand for timely mental health services in Italy. Further research is needed to support the efficacy of SST and to evaluate its cost‐effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The needs of refugees are of crucial concern internationally. Relational trauma is an area that is particularly under‐emphasised and under‐researched. The Strength to Strength program (STS) was a relationship and family counselling service for recently arrived refugees in Sydney, Australia. The service model built on post‐Milan systemic family therapy principles to include cultural and trauma‐informed aspects of care. This study explored the design and impact of the program, through qualitative accounts provided by service users. This paper focuses on the experiences of staff of the program, and the ways in which more traditional, Western‐informed modes of family therapy were transformed by refugee client needs. The specific study aim was to identify and describe transformations to the delivery of relationship and family counselling with refugees that enabled care, from the perspective of STS staff. A thematic analysis of interviews with STS service staff (bicultural workers, family therapists, managers; n = 10) was undertaken, guided by an interpretive description framework. Findings revealed that acceptable and useful clinical innovations to standard care included the use of community groups, the unique role of the bicultural worker, and increased reliance on more directive and practical modes of family therapy rather than insight‐oriented post‐Milan techniques. The role of community‐based intervention to enrich existing Western‐informed models of care for use with refugees was vital. STS was an example of staff‐driven innovation to the therapeutic care of refugee families resettling in a Western country and took into account their unique and complex set of cultural, practical, and psychological client needs. Future service delivery is best guided by the incorporation of multi‐faceted approaches to care that allow for phasing of treatment in line with client culture, needs, and readiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The treatment of infidelity is one of the most challenging and misunderstood aspects of marital therapy, with therapists frequently making treatment decisions based on faulty assumptions. By too quickly trying to 'fix' the marriage or by assuming that the betrayed spouse contributed to the unfaithful partner's infidelity, the therapeutic process can inadvertently re-traumatise an already emotionally fragile client, while not addressing his or her emotional needs. This paper addresses therapeutic considerations for working with the betrayed partner, and provides practical guidelines for addressing the psychological and emotional needs of a betrayed client. A grounded theory model of the recovery path for betrayed partners is presented, as well as suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]