Development of Family Therapy in Singapore: A Historical Perspective. Charles Sim, S.J.

Transcription

1 Development of Family Therapy in Singapore: A Historical Perspective Charles Sim, S.J.

2 1. The Practice of Family Therapy within Counselling Context 2. Training of Family Therapy in Singapore 3. Family Life Society 4. Family Therapy Contribution in Singapore 5. Proposal of a Common Research Project for the Region

3 Introduction The development of Family Therapy in Singapore influenced and shaped by visiting experts from around the world. Family Therapy as a professional discipline is at its early stage in Singapore.

4 Initial growth was due to government s social policies in the late 1980s to strengthen the family. Demand for counsellors trained in Family Therapy increases as Family Service Centres were established.

5 The Practice of Family Therapy within Counselling Context Professional counselling was introduced in Singapore in the 1960s by the Churches Counselling Centre. In Singapore, Family Therapy grew out of the practice of marital counselling.

6 As of 2006 there were 13 specialised counselling centres. 36 neighbourhood Family Service Centres under the government. Some of these centres offer counselling in family and marital therapy as an integral part of the counselling service.

7 Influenced by mainly the second order cybernetics and more recently the post-modern thinking. Milan/Systemic, Strategic, Structural, Narrative and Trans-generational models are the more commonly practiced in Singapore. Most practitioners used an eclectic approach.

8 Training of Family Therapy in Singapore Family Therapy was formally introduced in 1981 by the Counselling and Care Centre. In 1985 a significant development for Family Therapy taken by government agency_ncss. Programme to equip social workers with a family systems orientation.

9 Counselling and Care Centre in 1991 offered a post-graduate diploma in Family and Marital Therapy. In 2005 this post-graduate diploma evolved into the Master of Science in Systemic and Family Psychotherapy.

10 National University of Singapore, the Department of Social Work, introduced into the curriculum of the undergraduate degree programme in the late 1980s. Today they have a core module on Advance Family Practice for their 4th year (honours) students. There is also an elective on Family Therapy taught for the Master s programme.

11 Family Life Society Established as a non-profit organisation in 1982, to promote understanding and respect for marriage, family and human life.

12 Marital and Family Therapy work grew out of our Pregnancy Crisis work with young mothers facing unwanted pregnancies.

13 FLS provides individual, marital and family therapy besides our educational programmes with school. Trained about 70 volunteer lay counsellors for individual counselling with a psychospiritual orientation.

14 Family Therapy Contribution in Singapore In the past, consultation with family elders, religious leaders and even traditional healers. This collective psychic of the people in seeking help for their problems still remains.

15 Problems need to be address in a systemic way within a given social, economic, cultural, political as well as religious context of the society.

16 Proposal Common Research Project for Region

17 Spirituality and Family Therapy In recent years the exploration of spirituality with client in therapy has also gained much interest and acceptance in the West.

18 Books on Spirituality and Therapy 1. Encountering the Sacred in Psychotherapy by James and Melissa Griffith. 2. Spiritual Resources in Family Therapy edited by Froma Walsh. 3. Integrating Spirituality into Treatment edited by William R. Miller.

19 Carl Jung "During the past thirty years, people from all the civilised countries of the earth have consulted me... Among all my patients in the second half of life - that is to say, over thirty-five there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life.

20 Carl Jung It is safe to say that everyone of them fell ill because he had lost that which the living religions of every age have given to their followers, and none of them has been really healed who did not regain his religious outlook.

21 To explore and recovery the wisdom of healing that lies within this rich realm called Psychospiritual Counselling.

22 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

23 Thanks and God Bless!