ABSTRACT
We began this book by recognizing the renewed interest in understanding and practicing family therapy by psychiatrists, pediatricians, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, mental health professionals, pastoral counselors and, of course, family therapists. The McMaster family therapy approach that Epstein and colleagues first put into motion in the 1960s was, in hindsight, more consequential than they realized at the time. Components of the McMaster approach have been used over the past fifty years in a variety of clinical and nonclinical settings, its instruments have been translated into 20 languages, and its use in research is evident in the large bibliography we have compiled on a wide range of topics. We presented detailed guides for understanding and implementing the McMaster approach in earlier sections of this book.
