Assessing individual family members' constructions of family problems

The Potential of Conversation Analysis for Psychotherapy Research

An illustrative analysis is offered demonstrating the potential of conversation analysis for psychotherapy research. Extracts are presented from an unresolved problematic theme selected from an unsuccessful eight-session psychodynamic-interpersonal therapy of a female client presenting with a major depressive episode. The authors identify descriptive devices and communicative skills on which the client and therapist draw in the process of problem formulation. They demonstrate the way in which differing versions of the client’s problems were presented and how the client and therapist pursued differing attributional projects. Specifically, the authors examine how internal and external accounts of the client’s underlying problems were accomplished and warranted and how the therapist attempted the transformation of problems. The quality criteria pertaining to conversation analysis are indicated, the implications for therapeutic practice explored, and the relationship between the present findings and previous research discussed.

International Exchanges in Family Therapy

To encourage counseling psychologists to develop international ties, the authors describe a many-faceted partnership between the Universidad de La Coruña’s Postgraduate Program in Family Interventions and the University at Albany’s counseling psychology program. The partnership centers on an exchange program for graduate students and collaborative research in family therapy. In this article, the program is described in detail along with the challenges the authors faced in its creation. The benefits of international collaboration for training, research, and practice are discussed in light of the authors’ experiences to date. To illustrate, Michele Guzmán, the first Albany exchange student, describes how her experience in Spain influenced her professional work and aspirations. The article concludes with recommendations for establishing similar international alliances.

The structure of interpretations in family therapy: a video-enhanced exploration

A method for assessing the structure of interpretations of family therapy events is described. Family sessions were videotaped; each participant then independently reviewed the tape, stopping it to indicate any significant events and describing the importance of each identified sequence. Qualitative approaches to analyzing the stop points are described, using data from six families and their therapist. This combination of direct session experience and reflective interpretation provides a much-needed perspective on the meaning of sessions and psychotherapeutic interaction. Research and clinical implications for scientifically examining the structure of shared interpretations in family therapy are discussed.