Suchergebnisse

Postmodernism has influenced family therapy in significant ways, from clinical work to family therapy research. Little has been written, however, on how to conduct postmodern research in a manner reflecting marriage and family therapy inquiries. The present study seeks to investigate doctoral students understanding of postmodern family therapy research. Using collaborative language theory and collaborative inquiry, students participated in a dialogue to answer several questions: a) what is postmodernism, b) what is postmodern research, c) what does postmodern research look like, and d) what does this mean for the field of marriage and family therapy. Students indicated that postmodern research is characterized by its flexibility in methods, translates into a new way of conducting research, and creates a natural bridge between family therapy researchers and clinicians.

Little is known about the experience of families affected by incarceration, yet current trends indicate that millions of children have a parent who is imprisoned. Using a conceptual framework that acknowledges the losses associated with a parent's incarceration, 56 caregivers visiting an incarcerated family member during children's visiting hours were interviewed. The interview gathered information about family, health, economics, and the legal aspects of the inmate's situation. Overall, families were at risk economically before incarceration, and the most vulnerable became even more financially strained afterward. Other problems believed to be created by incarceration included parenting strain, emotional stress, and concerns about children's loss of involvement with their incarcerated parent. Implications for family practice and policy are discussed.

The authors report on a participatory focus group evaluation of an academic department. The 20 participants, and the majority of the evaluators, were graduate students in that department. The authors report on their methods, their reflections, ethical issues they encountered and what they did about them, and how they used the results.