The clinical work with stepfamilies: research, practices, instruments and international networks

Transcription

1 SUMMER SCHOOL The clinical work with stepfamilies: research, practices, instruments and international networks Scientific director: Prof. Vittorio Cigoli Organizing Coordinator: Monica Accordini Content and objectives The summer school will investigate the topic of clinical work with stepfamilies, particularly analyzing the characteristics and distinctive traits that feature these families. The speakers, expert clinicians and outstanding researchers, will illustrate the differences between stepfamilies and nuclear families, highlighting, throughout the use of examples, clinical vignettes and the created family technique, the most suitable methods and techniques to adequately treat remarried families. The general aim of the program is to set up a group of Italian and European professionals with a background in family and couple therapy that will acquire a specific training on the treatment of stepfamilies. Besides being provided with a detailed set of knowledge on the topic, these professionals will take part to the international network the Postgraduate School has developed over the past years also throughout several research projects. Specific objectives: - gain a knowledge on the research outcomes that might be useful for the clinical treatment of stepfamilies - become aware of the specific characteristics of stepfamilies that distinguish them from other family forms - learn new techniques for treating stepfamilies - evaluate one s work in light of the acquired competencies - develop a national and international network Topics Following are the main topics treated during the summer school: Families in transition. The evolution and changes family have undergone over the past decade will be outlined with special reference to reconstituted and remarried families. Characteristics, peculiarities, values and habits underlying divorce, separation and recoupling will be considered thoroughly and similarities and differences between Europe (Italy in particular) and North America will be discussed. An in depth examination of the literature as well as of the most recent research on the topic will also allow professionals to draw useful indications for their clinical practice. Stepfamily therapy (SfT). Stepfamily therapy (SfT). Stepfamily therapy is a clinical approach

2 used to treat stepfamilies. Prof. Scott Browning illustrates the basics of such approach in his APA published book: Stepfamily Therapy: A 10-step Clinical Approach. Stepfamily therapy draws on systems theory but it is specifically designed to treat remarried families as it keeps into account their specific features. Thanks to this approach, stepfamilies are understood, their needs and characteristics accepted and the differences with nuclear families acknowledged. It is key for therapists to have solid theoretical bases and appropriate tools for their clinical work. Far from being a substitute for years of training, this approach may constitute a reference point, an anchor, to help clinicians in their difficult, and often wearing, work with stepfamilies. Many of the most common mistakes clinicians do in therapy are due to a lacking or improper understanding of stepfamily dynamics, such mistakes will be analyzed and explained during the workshop. Psycho-educational approaches. The characteristics of the most recent psycho-educational approaches aimed at strengthening and supporting stepfamilies will be presented during tis module. Speakers will also offer examples of good practices that integrate therapy and community interventions. Practical exercises will make use of online programs that adopt behavior modeling strategies in order to improve couple interaction, relationships between ex spouses or with stepchildren. Children in stepfamilies. Speakers will analyze the topic of children in stepfamilies, specifically difficulties or problems children may face according to their age, gender and stage of development of the stepfamily will be investigated. The complex dynamics that characterize the relationship between children and stepparents will also be taken into consideration thanks to recent research outcomes and their implication for clinical practice. In particular, stepmothers will be compared to stepfathers in terms of roles within the family and social expectations. The complex role of children born within the remarriage will also be discussed along with the psychological implications of legal and custody arrangements. Grandparents and stepgrandparents. This new and extremely interesting area of research and clinical practice with stepfamilies will be taken into consideration focusing on differences (in terms of roles, tasks and expectations) between grandparents and stepgrandparents. Other crucial variables such as the gender and age of children and grandchildren at the time of the stepfamily creation. Created family. That of created family is an extremely effective teaching technique developed almost a decade ago by professor Scott Browning in order to overcome problems connected to clients' privacy and the treatment of personal or sensitive data. In fact, especially in the United States the legislation on the matter is extremely strict and does not allow the recording of clinical sessions for teaching purposes. In this case some members of the audience are invited to set up and create a clinical vignette and to enact it in front of the therapist. The difference with a simple role playing is that the created family process does not end in the enactment of a clinical situation in the "hic et nunc": the creation and constitution of the family, in fact, begins well before the seminar start, days, sometimes even weeks in advance. Actors are invited to set up a complex and detailed family history, to define the personality and traits of each character and to meet "in characters". The therapy, then, can extend far beyond a single session, this way allowing the audience to acknowledge and analyze the processes and changes occurred in the various members. 2

3 Speakers Francesca Adler-Baeder is a professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Auburn University in Alabama. Her research has been published in various academic journals. She has been involved in building services in Marriage Education in Alabama for the past 5years and coordinates the Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative in collaboration with the Alabama Children's Trust Fund. Dr. Adler-Baeder has worked with Abt Associates on a federally-funded project focused on developing a conceptual model of best practices for marriage education with couples in stepfamilies. Dr. Adler-Baeder has worked with family life education services for various agencies, organizations, and institutions including the U.S. Army and the Cooperative Extension Service. She served on the board of the Stepfamily Association of America and developed "Smart Steps for Adults and Children in Stepfamilies," now available through the National Stepfamily Resource Center. Scott Browning: since 1987 he is Professor of Psychology at theprofessional Psychology Department of Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia. Together with Elise Artelt, Dr. Browning is coauthor of the APA book Stepfamily Therapy: A 10-step Clinical Approach pubblicato nel 2012 published in He is also a panel member of the National Stepfamily Resource Center, the American Family Therapy Academy as well as the American Psychological Association. In 2003 he was awarded the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. besides having authored and coauthor end several publications on stepfamilies, Dr. Browning is also co-chair of the Stepfamily Interest Group at the American Family Therapy Academy. Lawrence Ganong: (Ph.D., Family Studies, University of Missouri, Columbia, 1977) is Professor in both the Sinclair School of Nursing and the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Since 2011 he is member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Contemporary Families. He has served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships ( ) and, along with Marilyn Coleman, has overseen special issues of the Journal of Marriage and the Family, Family Relations, and the Journal of Family Issues. They have also coedited books and have written chapters for several edited books. Most of the 3 books and 130+ articles and book chapters they've co-authored have to do with some aspect of family diversity, and they have conducted research on stepfamilies for over 25 years. Among the books they have co-authored Families in the 20th Century (2007), Stepfamilies: Development, Dynamics, and Intervention (2004). Marylyn Coleman: (Ed.D., Special Education, University of Missouri, Columbia, 1975) is Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Missouri, Columbia. She has 3

4 edited the Journal of Marriage and the Family ( ) and has served as Associate Editor of the Home Economics Research Journal ( ). Kay Pasley: Since 2005 is facilitator at the Institute for Academic Leadership, Florida State University and since 2004 she is Professor and Chair, Family and Child Sciences, at the same university. Until 2004 she was Director of the Divorce Mediation Services, Human Development and Family Studies at the University of North Carolina as well as editor of the journal Family Relations. Kay Pasley is also co-author of several book chapters, among which: Remarriage and stepfamily life published in the volume Normal family processes: Growing diversity and complexity (4th ed.) edited by Froma Walsh and Remarriage and stepfamilies published in the volume Handbook of marriage and the family (3rd ed.) edited by Peterson e Bush. Dr. Pasley is currently member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, the International Association for Relationship Research And the National Council on Family Relations. In 2011 Dr. Pasley was awarded the prestigious Felix Berardo Award for excellence in mentoring by the The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). In 2002 she received a prize for Lifelong Support and Service to Stepfamilies by the Stepfamily Association of America. Vittorio Cigoli: currently serves as contract Professor of Couple and Family Relationships at the Catholic University of Milan and until 2012 he has been Full Professor for the same course. Since 2001, he is also the Director of the Clinical Service for Couples and Families at the Department of Psychology. Professor Cigoli is Director of the Postgraduate School of Psychology Agostino Gemelli that organizes Masters' Programs and International seminars, in particular he is responsible for the coordination and scientific organization of the Masters' Program in Family and Community Mediation and in Clinical Psychology of Couple Relationship. Now, I am the Principal of the Post-Graduate School "A.Gemelli" which organizes Masters and International Workshops; in this School I am the Scientific Director of the Master in Family and Community Mediation and of the Master in Couples Clinical Psychology. Professor Cigoli has authored or co-authored over 20 books and 180 scientific articles or book chapters, many of these publications deal with the topic of stepfamilies in terms of both research and clinical practice. Monica Accordini: Contract Professor of Psychopathology at the Catholic University of Piacenza until 2012, in 2013 Dr. Accordini has been awarded a research scholarship to carry out a research on the development of stepparents-stepchildren relationships. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2010 with a thesis on the representations of American and Italian clinicians about their work with stepfamilies. Dr. Accordini has been working with Dr. Scott Browning for several years and she has co-authored some contributions on stepfamilies. With special appearance by... 4

5 Thomas Bradbury is a Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Bradbury is the editor of The Psychology of Marriage (with Frank Fincham,1990) and The Developmental Course of Marital Dysfunction (1998). He is a member of the Risk Prevention and Health Behavior Review Committee at the National Institute of Mental Health, and he is an editorial board member for several journals, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, the Journal of Family Psychology, and the Journal of Marriage and the Family. Bradbury is the recipient of the 1997 Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contributions from the American Psychological Association and has twice received the Reuben Hill Award for Research and Theory on Marriage from the National Council on Family Relations. Thomas Bradbury conducts basic research on the longitudinal course of marriage, with particular emphasis on laboratory observation and interview methods. A central goal of this work is to understand how newlywed couples negotiate the first several years of marriage and to clarify the factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of couples having stable, satisfying relationships During his visit, Professor Bradbury will be awarded the laurea honoris causa by the Faculty of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan. A translation to Italian will be offered to course participants Participants The program is addressed to psychotherapists, psychotherapists in training, clinical psychologists and doctoral students interested in the clinical treatment of stepfamilies. Duration The program will last for 4 days, from May 29th to June 1st Costs The Admission fee is 400 euros + VAT. The reduced admission fee is 300 euros + VAT. The following subjects and institutions will benefit of the discount: A. Teachers, students and former students of: - the psychotherapy schools that have an agreement with the Postgraduate School Agostino Gemelli; - the psychotherapy schools that took part to the research on stepfamilies in 2008/2009 B. Individual therapists who took part to the research on stepfamilies in. 2008/2009 The above indicated costs will be applied for all subscriptions received by May 10. After May 10, new program costs will apply: euros + VAT (reduced fee) euros + VAT (full fee) When filling in the subscription form, participants willing to benefit of the discounted fee should clearly specify their position (psychotherapy school student, doctoral student, etc...) as well as the psychotherapy school they are attending or have attended when relevant. 5

6 Participants will receive a free ticket to have lunch at the University Cafeteria. 6

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