Termination: how families experience the end of family therapy

dc.contributor.advisor Harvey H. Joanning
dc.contributor.author Grant, Henry
dc.contributor.department Human Development and Family Studies
dc.date 2018-08-23T14:33:24.000
dc.date.accessioned 2020-06-30T07:21:06Z
dc.date.available 2020-06-30T07:21:06Z
dc.date.copyright Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 1999
dc.date.issued 1999
dc.description.abstract <p>Families who experienced a successful outcome to family therapy appeared to be ready to terminate when they had made a paradigm shift in their thinking about family problems and how to resolve them. In this study families communicated two signs of readiness to terminate therapy: (1) the family stopped focusing on the child as a problem and viewed the child as growing up; (2) the parental dyad expressed a renewed sense of confidence in themselves to handle any relationship problems that might arise in the family. Families who remain focused on the problems of the child were not confident in their own ability to handle relationship problems and frequently sought an outside agent, e.g., therapist, to create and/or maintain a solution for the family, i.e., to "fix" the index person. The families who remain focused on the index person were often ambivalent about termination. Furthermore, families who showed a readiness to terminate use a three-stage process, (1) the family relied on the therapist to initiate the suggestion, (2) the family eventually claimed ownership of the idea, and (3) the family negotiated with the therapist how to terminate therapy. A good therapeutic alliance between family and therapist did not appear to influence the decision to terminate. Ambivalence by families towards the social worker also did not appear to influence the family's readiness to stop family therapy. Three areas of further research are suggested by this study. How might therapists gauge readiness to terminate in families? Are there early signs of readiness to stop therapy by which to predict when to stop? What family qualities could best aid the parent in becoming confident about handling family relationships?</p>
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.identifier archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/12454/
dc.identifier.articleid 13453
dc.identifier.contextkey 6804134
dc.identifier.doi https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-13723
dc.identifier.s3bucket isulib-bepress-aws-west
dc.identifier.submissionpath rtd/12454
dc.identifier.uri https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/65824
dc.language.iso en
dc.source.bitstream archive/lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/12454/r_9950090.pdf|||Fri Jan 14 19:22:01 UTC 2022
dc.subject.disciplines Clinical Psychology
dc.subject.disciplines Family, Life Course, and Society
dc.subject.disciplines Psychiatry and Psychology
dc.subject.disciplines Social Work
dc.subject.keywords Human development and family studies
dc.subject.keywords Human development and family studies (Marriage and family therapy)
dc.subject.keywords Marriage and family therapy
dc.title Termination: how families experience the end of family therapy
dc.type article
dc.type.genre dissertation
dspace.entity.type Publication
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication aa55ac20-60f6-41d8-a7d1-c7bf09de0440
thesis.degree.level dissertation
thesis.degree.name Doctor of Philosophy
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