Understanding Diverse Families: What Practitioners Need to Know - Hardcover

Today's mental health clinicians face a rapidly changing clientele. Divorce, remarriage, multiracial marriages, different types of adoption, openly gay and lesbian relationships - all have significantly altered the nature and composition of families. At the same time, clinicians within managed care organizations have less control over the types of cases that make up their practice. Addressing an important need, this illuminating volume is designed to help practitioners work effectively with diversity in this challenging new environment. It confronts myths and stereotypes about what is considered "normal" and what constitutes a "family", insightfully examines a range of healthy families with creative family structures, and expands our notions about how families work. Synthesizing current literature with information obtained through first-person interviews, the book begins with an overview of contemporary family forms. Chapters then provide an in-depth examination of three types of families: adoptive, gay and lesbian, and multiracial. Each is considered first in a sociocultural context, then from a developmental perspective, and finally with an eye to treatment implications. Issues associated with single parenthood by choice, grandparent-headed families, and families that have used artificial reproductive technology are also discussed. Throughout, illustrative vignettes present the voices of family members themselves. The book describes the powerful influences of gender, class, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, and multiple social systems on individuals and their families. Enhancing its usefulness, the book concludes with a list of resources for parents and children in the family typesdiscussed. Comprehensive and balanced, this volume is intended for practitioners, both novice and experienced, who wish to equip themselves to work in practice as it is today. Also, for graduate students and trainees who have been introduced to theories of personality and family theory, this book serves as an enlightening text for courses in counseling and clinical psychology, social work, psychiatric nursing, family therapy, and psychiatry.

Barbara F. Okun, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology, Rehabilitation, and Special Education at Northeastern University; Clinical Instructor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; and a supervisor in the Cambridge Hospital Couples and Family Therapy program. She has published several books, including Intimate Environments: Sex, Intimacy, and Gender in Family Therapy (coedited with David Kantor), as well as numerous chapters and articles, and she serves as Editor of a book series that focuses on women and mental health. Dr. Okun's clinical practice comprises a diverse clientele of individuals, couples, and families.