Collaborative Therapy with Multi-Stressed Families

William C. Madsen, PhD, is Founder and Director of the Family-Centered Services Project in Watertown, Massachusetts, an organizational change initiative dedicated to helping state and provincial organizations and community agencies develop more respectful and responsive ways of serving youth and families. Since the 1980s, he has developed, administered, and consulted to many innovative programs. He currently provides international training and consultation regarding collaborative approaches to therapy and the development of institutional structures and organizational cultures that support family-centered work.

Introduction: Reflective Practice in Frenzied Times
1. Working with Multi-Stressed Families: Recognizing the Importance of Relational Stance
2. What We See Is What We Get: Reexamining Our Assessment Process
3. Collaboration Is a Two-Way Street: Engaging Reluctant Families
4. Developing a Proactive Vision to Guide Clinical Work: Collaborative Therapy Contracts
5. Collaborative Inquiry: An Anthropological Approach to Intervening with Families
6. Examining the Relationship between Clients and the Problems in Their Lives
7. Helping Clients Shift Their Relationship to Problems and Develop Preferred Lives
8. Developing Communities to Support New Lives
9. Solidifying New Lives through Therapeutic Documents
10. Sustaining a Collaborative Practice in the Real World
Appendices: A. One Example of a Strength-Based Assessment Outline. B. Questions to Assess Externalized Problems Rather Than Families. C. Considerations in Collaborative Therapy Contracts. D. An Interview Outline to Consolidate Alternative Stories. E. Coauthoring Termination/Consolidation Summaries with Clients.