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The Ackerman Institute for the Family, established in 1960 by Dr Nathan Ackerman, stands as one of the oldest and most respected family therapy institutes in the United States. Ackerman pioneered the integration of systemic insights into group settings, emphasised the crucial role of family in therapy, and advocated for the advancement and acceptance of family therapy. 'The Ackerman' played a pivotal role in launching Family Process, the first journal dedicated to academic activities in family therapy. Diversity and inclusion have been central tenets of Ackerman philosophy, evident in its programs, training courses, and staff composition. This commitment has produced a veritable cadre of family therapy leaders who have contributed significantly to both the Ackerman Institute and the profession, influencing policy decisions and clinical practices. One of the most esteemed and respected thought leaders and innovators of our field, who played a vital role in the legacy of several institutions, including the Ackerman, is Dr. Evan Imber‐Black. She served as a long‐time faculty member and director of the Ackerman Center for Families and Health. Her expertise encompasses the exploration of family rituals and family secrets, with a focus on the importance of rituals in providing meaning, identity, and connection across diverse cultures and family life cycles. As editor of Family Process for 8 years, she highlights the importance of examining scholarly work in the context of cultures as a requirement – we do not stand outside the culture – we are active participants. This paper is based on a conversation with Dr Evan Imber‐Black, held in June 2023, delving into her personal and professional experiences, her connection to the Ackerman Institute, and her influential work on family rituals and secrets. Through this exploration, the paper sheds light on her commitment to diversity and the lasting impact of Dr Imber‐Black's contributions to family therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study examined face threat and facework strategies when people witness family members disclosing sensitive health information to family outsiders. Korean and U.S. participants were expected to view these situations differently based on Confucian versus individualist identity and in-group privacy norms. Korean and U.S. college samples evaluated vignettes in which health information was disclosed to family outsiders. Koreans regarded the situations as more face threatening and endorsed dominating facework in these situations to a greater extent than did Americans. The 2 cultures also showed strong similarities. Results confirmed the cultural basis of privacy expectations but contradicted some accounts of culturally based facework. Koreans did not consistently endorse indirect facework, nor did Americans show notable directness in response to privacy violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between adult offspring's perception of family functioning and of parental use of topic avoidance to maintain secrecy regarding the use of donor assistance to conceive. A cross-sectional design was used to study a convenience sample of 69 young adult donor offspring who completed a demographic questionnaire, a topic avoidance scale relative to each of their rearing parents, and the Beavers Self Report Family Instrument. Findings indicated that participants perceived both parents as avoiding the topic of donor assistance more than other topics, mothers as avoiding all topics less than fathers, and topic avoidance was negatively associated with family functioning. Mothers' general topic avoidance was the strongest predictor of family functioning. Parents' disclosing together was predictive of higher family functioning. Implications for practice and future research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Playing off Goodall's title, A Need to Know, this author asks the question, "Do We Need to Know?" She views Goodall's book as a double spy story, one in which Buddy plays the role of an ethnographic spy who investigates his father's career as a CIA spy. Goodall's revelations about his family secrets prompt her to consider and raise issues about her own family secrets, for example, her role in contributing to and maintaining the mystery, the ramifications of the secrets her family failed to keep as well as the ones they kept, the influence of time and events on the perception of secrets, and how one decides the ethical dimensions and costs and rewards of telling and not telling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author explores the story of his family and an account of their code of secrecy. He focuses on the story about their country, their intelligence organizations, and the relationship of the cold war culture of secrecy and surveillance to the current culture of secrecy. He relates that his father was a spy who harbored a dark suspicion about his boss in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. It was until after his father's death that he began to know what had gone wrong for his father, for him and for their family. Moreover, he implies that a cult of secrecy enables power and commands loyalty but constrains the dissemination of reliable information necessary for an informed electorate to operate in a representative democratic society.