Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy

This authoritative reference assembles prominent international experts from psychology, social work, and counseling to summarize the current state of couple and family therapy knowledge in a clear A-Z format. Its sweeping range of entries covers major concepts, theories, models, approaches, intervention strategies, and prominent contributors associated with couple and family therapy. The Encyclopedia provides family and couple context for treating varied problems and disorders, understanding special client populations, and approaching emerging issues in the field, consolidating this wide array of knowledge into a useful resource for clinicians and therapists across clinical settings, theoretical orientations, and specialties.

A sampling of topics included in the Encyclopedia: 

• Acceptance versus behavior change in couple and family therapy
  
• Collaborative and dialogic therapy with couples and families
  
• Integrative treatment forinfidelity
  
• Live supervision in couple and family therapy
  
• Postmodern approaches in the use of genograms
  
• Split alliance in couple and family therapy
  
• Transgender couples and families
  

The first comprehensive reference work of its kind, the Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy incorporates seven decades of innovative developments in the fields of couple and family therapy into one convenient resource. It is a definitive reference for therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and counselors, whether couple and family therapy is their main field or one of many modalities used in practice.

Jay L. Lebow, Ph.D., ABPP, is Senior Scholar and Senior Therapist at The Family Institute at Northwestern, and Clinical Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Family Process. He has authored seven books and edited seven other books, including Treating the Difficult Divorce: A Practical Guide for Psychotherapists, Couple and Family Therapy: An Integrative Map of the Territory, Research for the Psychotherapist, Common factors in Couple and Family Therapy (with Doug Sprenkle and Sean Davis), Integrative Systemic Therapy (with Bill Pinsof, Doug Breunlin, Bill Russell, Cheryl Rampage, and Anthony Chambers), Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy (with Alan Gurman and Doug Snyder), Handbook of Family Therapy (with Tom Sexton), and Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy (with Anthony Chambers and Doug Breunlin). He is also author of 200 articles and book chapters, most of which focus on couple and family therapy, research about psychotherapy, therapy for high conflict divorce, and research and practice. He is the author of many review papers summarizing the state of theory, practice, and research in couple and family therapy, including the decade review of couple therapy for Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, the decade review of couple therapy research for Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, the summary of couple and family therapy for The Handbook of Psychology, the summary of integrative methods for the Handbook of Family Therapy, two papers about the practice of integrative family therapy in Family Process, a paper describing a method for treatment of high conflict couples in divorce in Journal of Family Psychology, and summaries of methods of family therapy in the Comprehensive Handbook of Psychiatry and the Psychologist PDR. Dr. Lebow is a major proponent of integrative methods of practice in couple and family therapy and movement toward a common base for practice. He wrote a column for a decade for the Psychotherapy Networker on the relationship of research and practice, and now writes an editorial for each issue of Family Process.

Dr. Lebow has engaged in clinical practice, supervision, and research for over 40 years, is board certified in couple and family psychology, and is an American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy approved supervisor. He has received the Society of Couple and Family Psychology’s Family Psychologist of the Year Award as well as the American Family Therapy Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He served as President of the Society of Couple and Family Psychology and served for many years on the Board of Directors and as committee chairs for the American Family Therapy Academy.

Anthony L. Chambers, Ph.D., ABPP, is the Chief Academic Officer and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist on staff at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. Dr. Chambers is also the Director for Northwestern University’s Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies and is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychology. Dr. Chambers is the former Coordinator of Research, Director of the Couple Therapy program, Core Faculty member of the MFT program, and Director of the Postdoctoral Fellowship program at The Family Institute. He is also one of the few psychologists nationwide board certified in treating couples (ABPP). Dr. Chambers is also a former President of the American Psychological Association’s Society for Couple and Family Psychology (Division 43).

Dr. Chambers received his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Hampton University and completed his M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Virginia (Department of Psychology). He completed his internship and postdoctoral clinical residency at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (HMS/MGH), specializing in the treatment of couples. Dr. Chambers was also the Dr. John J.B. Morgan Postdoctoral Fellow specializing in couple therapy and psychotherapy research at The Family Institute at Northwestern University.

Dr. Chambers embraces the scientist-practitioner model of therapy by using research to inform clinical practice. Thus, in addition to maintaining a very large clinical practice comprised of 90% couples, Dr. Chambers also engages in scholarly writing, teaching, and public speaking aimed at disseminating the latest knowledge about how to have a healthy relationship. He is the author of numerous book chapters, journal articles, and national presentations devoted to summarizing the science behind assessing and treating common couples’ problems (i.e., communication, trust, intimacy, parenting, conflict resolution). He has also published and lectured extensively on additional topics, including the transition to marriage, the transition to parenthood, African American couples, and interracial couples. Dr. Chambers has also made multiple media appearances discussing topics such as “Surviving Infidelity” and “Avoiding marriage’s No. 1 pitfall: Money troubles”.

Dr. Chambers’ professional accomplishments have resulted in becoming a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and its Division of Couple and Family Psychology, a Fellow of the American Academy of Couple and Family Psychology, and a Diplomat of the American Board of Couple and Family Psychology. Dr. Chambers is on the Board of Directors of several academic and professional organizations devoted to strengthening couples and families, including the Family Process Institute, the American Board of Couple and Family Psychology, and the American Academy of Couple and Family Psychology. He also serves on the American Psychological Association’s Advisory Steering Committee, which oversees the process of establishing clinical practice guidelines. He is also on the editorial board for the journal Family Process, and is the Associate Editor for the flagship journal Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice.

Douglas C. Breunlin, MSSA, LMFT, LCSW, is Clinical Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University and holder of the McCormick Tribune Foundation Chair in Marriage and Family Therapy at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. He is the Program Director for Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Northwestern University. He is licensed in marriage and family therapy and clinical social work and practices as a senior therapist at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. He has engaged in clinical practice, supervision, and research on couple and family therapy for 40 years. He is an Approved Supervisor and Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. His professional areas of interest have included family therapy training, the integration of family therapy models, and consultation with school systems and family businesses. He is author (with Richard Schwartz and Betty Mac Kune Karrer) of Metaframeworks: Transcending the Models of Family Therapy, Editor (with Howard Liddle and Richard Schwartz) of the Handbook of Family Therapy Training and Supervision, coauthor of Integrative Systemic Therapy: Metaframeworks for Problem Solving with Individuals, Couples and Families, an Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy, and the author of over 70 published articles and chapters in books. He has served on the Editorial Boards of Family Process, Couple and Family Psychology, the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, andthe Journal of Family Therapy.He has served as secretary, treasurer, and board member of the American Family Therapy Academy.