ABSTRACT
Three major questions guided our research over the past several decades. First, we wanted to know if there were differences in family functioning between normal families and families in which one member has a psychiatric or nonpsychiatric, medical illness. Our clinical impression that there were differences needed to be examined systematically. Second, we wanted to test the assumption that a family's functioning had a measurable impact on a patient's course of illness. Third, we wanted to test the PCSTF, the family treatment approach that was based on the MMFF. 50 Before addressing these questions, we needed to develop a set of constructs that were reliable, valid, clinically meaningful, and empirically testable. Epstein and his colleagues embarked on a series of studies described in previous chapters. As we noted, clinicians and researchers worked together in an iterative process, testing, questioning, and refining concepts until satisfied with a prototype of a family functioning model, a treatment approach, and research assessments. These prototypes were used to address part of the first question listed above, that is, family functioning in normal families. Readers can appreciate the complexity of the issues involved when a series of studies was needed just to address what constitutes normality. 1 7 51 52
