Premium
Stages of Change Theory in Family Therapy for Sibling Sexual Assault
Author(s) -
McNevin Elizabeth
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1467-8438
pISSN - 0814-723X
DOI - 10.1375/s0814723x00001935
Subject(s) - family therapy , intervention (counseling) , psychology , sibling , motivational interviewing , sexual assault , resistance (ecology) , psychotherapist , interview , social psychology , developmental psychology , sociology , human factors and ergonomics , medicine , poison control , psychiatry , ecology , environmental health , anthropology , biology
Family therapy understands the benefits of therapeutically supported dialogue amongst family members when there are challenging themes and topics that need to be discussed. This paper is an attempt to explore ways that family therapists can work with family members who are thrust into therapy rather than ‘voluntarily’ signing up for it. It applies ideas from the drug and alcohol field such as Stages of Change theory and Motivational Interviewing. The paper explores how these ideas and approaches might help family therapists to formulate a concept of resistance and to make helpful dialogue more likely. They are applied to families experiencing sibling sexual assault, where they become involved with a legal response that necessitates a therapeutic intervention.