In this episode we hear about the ground-breaking Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy (Wampler, 2020) from three contributing editors. We discuss it's creation, the process of its development and get a deeper dive into some of the chapters. This handbook is a magnificent resource for family therapist as its sets to redefine the profession and practice of systemic therapy and it was a real pleasure and privilege to speak with Reenee, Mudita and Adrian about their role in creating this international handbook
The Handbook integrates the scholarly literature on systemic interventions focused on children, couples, and families into a single resource. Volume 1 includes critical information on the theoretical, practice, research, and policy foundations of the profession of systemic family therapy and its roles in an integrated health care system. Topics in Volume 2 (children and adolescents), Volume 3 (couples), and Volume 4 (family over the lifespan) reflect established and emerging interventions for the core difficulties in relationships that impact the mental and physical health of individuals, couples, and families.
Adrian J. Blow, PhD, works as a couple and family therapy intervention researcher and educator at Michigan State University. Adrian is a Professor and Chair in the Human Development and Family Studies department and a core faculty member of the Couple and Family Therapy program. He studies families and trauma, military families, resilience processes in couples, and change processes (common factors) in interventions pertaining to Systemic Family Therapy. . He has mentored many students and in 2017 was awarded the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Training Award, which recognizes excellence in family therapy education.
Mudita Rastogi, PhD, practices at Aspire Consulting and Therapy as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, grant consultant, coach, and educator. She is an AAMFT Approved Supervisor and Clinical Fellow, having practiced in both India and the US. She is a former Professor at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, Program Director for the SAMHSA-funded Minority Fellowship Program at AAMFT, Associate Editor for the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Editor of Multicultural Couple Therapy and Voices of Color, and Associate Editor for the Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. She is a founding member of the Indian Association for Family Therapy, with interest in diversity, inclusion, global mental health, parenting, and child-free couples.
Reenee Singh, DSysPsych, is the former Chief Executive of the Association of Family Therapy and Systemic Practice in the UK. She is a Consultant Family and Systemic Psychotherapist, currently working at the Child and Family Practice, where she founded the London Intercultural Couples Centre and serves as a Director. Reenee is a Visiting Professor in the School of Psychology, University of Bergamo, Italy, and is the past editor of the Journal of Family Therapy. She is the author of three books and numerous academic publications in the areas of "race," culture, and qualitative research. Reenee has taught worldwide and presents her research at national and international conferences.
Special Mention:
Karen S. Wampler, PhD, retired as Professor and Chair of the Human Development and Family Studies department at Michigan State University. She previously served as Department Chair, Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Program Director, and the C. R. and Virginia Hutcheson Professor at Texas Tech University. Prior to that, she developed and directed the MFT Program at the University of Georgia. Her research focused on applying attachment theory to couple interaction, family therapy process research, and observational measures of relationships. A past editor of the Journal of M