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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS AND COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE APPROACHES: A QUALITATIVE STUDY
Author(s) -
Becvar Dorothy S.,
Caldwell Karen L.,
Winek Jon L.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2006.tb01592.x
Subject(s) - qualitative research , alternative medicine , psychology , psychotherapist , family therapy , clinical psychology , family medicine , social psychology , medicine , medical education , sociology , social science , pathology
In this article, we delineate the qualitative phase of a mixed‐method research study focused on understanding the relationship between Clinical Members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) and complementary alternative medicine (CAM). Based on an analysis of the data derived from telephone interviews with 54 respondents, we describe four themes: definitional issues, depth of awareness of CAM, fit with MFT, and ethical considerations. Our discussion focuses on the findings of this phase, considerations from the quantitative phase, and ref lections on the research study as a whole. While acknowledging the limitations of the study, we conclude that the growing awareness of and involvement with CAM approaches and practitioners among MFTs suggest a need for further education for both professionals and clients. We also note the importance of additional research support for the use of CAM practices.