Family Science

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2239

Formerly known as the Department of Family Studies.

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    Are We Ready to Serve? Couple and Family Therapists’ Attitudes Toward BDSM and Their Perceived Competence Helping BDSM Practitioners
    (2020) Berman, Zachary Lane; Fish, Jessica N; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Cultural competence is a core component of delivering effective psychotherapy to clients with diverse sexual lifestyles, including BDSM practitioners, who constitute a substantial minority of the population. Couple and Family Therapists (CFTs) are uniquely prepared to explore relationships and power dynamics, but no research has explored CFTs’ psychotherapeutic relationship with BDSM practitioners. This study measures CFTs’ BDSM attitudes, perceived competence, and the relationship between these and related professional factors. Results indicated that CFTs (n = 132) have positive attitudes and moderate perceived competence; attitudes and perceived competence were negatively correlated. Controlling for various professional factors such as AASECT certification, we found that participants with at least three or more hours of BDSM-specific training had significantly more positive attitudes and significantly higher perceived competence. Including these hours in graduate training or continuing education credits could help CFTs to feel more “kink aware” and competent to deliver ethical care for this population.
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    THERAPIST COMMON FACTORS’ INFLUENCE ON CLIENT CONSTRUCTIVE COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN COUPLE THERAPY
    (2018) Harbison, Liza; Epstein, Norman B; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This study investigated the relationship between therapist common factors behaviors and changes in client constructive communication during couple therapy. Research suggests that common factors are associated with client improvement, but research on these factors in couple therapy is lacking. This study was a secondary data analysis of 41 couples presenting with mild to moderate psychological and physical partner aggression who received ten sessions of couple therapy at a university family therapy clinic. The study examined the relationship between therapist collaborative behavior and use of systemically based techniques coded from the fourth couple therapy session, and changes in client constructive communication, measured by client cognitions during conflict, client and partner behavior during conflict, and video coding of couple communication. Minimal significant links were found, but unexpectedly, therapist use of systemic techniques was negatively associated with change in female constructive problem solving cognitions. Implications of these findings are discussed.