Main description:

The field of medical family therapy has grown by leaps and bounds since the authors' bestselling Medical Family Therapy: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Families With Health Problems was published in 1992. In that book, the authors sought to bridge the gap between mental and physical health by introducing a systems-based approach that unites physicians, psychologists, family therapists, social workers, nurses, counsellors, and therapists of all theoretical orientations in working with families across a wide range of professional settings.

In this thorough revision and update of their classic text, the authors describe the impact of recent economic and structural changes in health care on the role of the medical family therapist. They describe how medical and mental health providers can learn to speak the same language, whether they collaborate in outpatient therapy, co-location settings, community health centres, or fully-integrated health systems. They also take into account exciting new advances in fertility treatments and genomic medicine, and assess the medical family therapist's role in navigating the unique conflicts that can arise in families dealing with these and similar issues.

Contents:

Foreword
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Acknowledgments

I. Foundations of Medical Family Therapy
An Overview of Medical Family Therapy
Clinical Strategies for Medical Family Therapy
Collaboration With Other Health Professionals
The Shared Emotional Themes of Illness
The Self of the Medical Family Therapist
Community Engagement

II. Medical Family Therapy Across the Life Cycle
Health Behaviors That Harm
Couples and Illness
Pregnancy Loss, Infertility, and Reproductive Technology
Medical Family Therapy With Children
Somatizing Patients and Their Families
The Experience of Genomic Medicine: A New Frontier
Caregiving, End of Life Care, and Loss

III. Conclusion
How Medical Family Therapists Can Contribute to the Transformation of Health Care

Appendix: Profiles of Medical Family Therapists in Practice
References
Index
About the Authors