1st Edition
Contextual Therapy for Family Health Clinical Applications
This book provides readers with a compelling case for the inclusion of contextual therapy in comprehensive healthcare settings by presenting its applications to individual and family health across the lifespan. Part I gives an overview of contextual therapy, including case conceptualization, assessment, intervention, and supervision. Part II provides specific recommendations for incorporating contextual therapy in diverse and multidisciplinary settings. Case studies illustrate how concepts such as justice, loyalty, and balanced giving and receiving influence families’ adjustment to chronic illnesses and mental health disorders. Accounting for the trend toward increased collaboration between providers in traditional mental health and medical settings, this book will empower clinicians to expand their current range of assessment methods, intervention techniques, and supervision experiences
Part One: An Orientation to Contextual Theory and Skills 1. The Theory Behind the Practice 2. Intertwining Individuality and Relatedness 3. Capturing the Human Experience: The Role of Assessment 4. Contextual Supervision: Helping Clinicians Find Balance Part Two: Health-Related Applications of Contextual Therapy 5. Tailoring the Contextual Framework for Healthcare 6. The Crisis is Real: Demands of Acute Conditions 7. It Never Ends: Chronic Disease Challenges 8. Tangled Minds: Contextual Perspectives on Mental Health 9. Seeking Healing at the End of Life Epilogue
Biography
Alexandra E. Schmidt, PhD, LMFT, serves as an integrated behavioral health advisor at Rocky Mountain Health Plans. She uses her systemic training and clinical experience to coach healthcare teams in developing and implementing strategies to support team-based, comprehensive primary care.
D. Scott Sibley, PhD, LMFT, CFLE is an assistant professor in human development and family sciences at Northern Illinois University. He researches commitment in couple relationships and romantic relationship formation and operates a small private practice.
"All you need is love. But the prime insight of contextual therapy is that that love is shaped by your sense of justice and fairness in your most important relationships. In this clear, concrete and yet impassioned book by family therapists Schmidt and Sibley, psychotherapists are given the means to enhance fairness among caregiving family members to foster greater harmony, cohesion and healing"
Barry J. Jacobs, PsyD, Director of Behavioral Science, Crozer-Keystone Family Medicine Residency Program, author of The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers, co-author of AARP Meditations for Caregivers
"Contextual Family Therapy has always had a profound impact on the field. Schmidt and Sibley give us not only excellent and practical examples of how the theory can greatly assist individuals and families dealing with health issues and the care system, but also give us a coherent and cogent overview of understanding this essential model. The reader will not be disappointed!"
Terry D. Hargrave, PhD, Evelyn and Frank Freed Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy, Fuller Theological Seminary
