ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the origins of the ORCA framework for the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Seattle Pacific University. The framework emerged at a time of transition for the program, as faculty and staff met to define the values that would guide teaching and training as it moved forward. The program’s transition paralleled the changes occurring in the family therapy field, particularly with the influence of poststructuralism. In those faculty and staff discussions, ORCA principles came to reflect more than a set of values. They became a worldview and a therapeutic posture, in which the clients’ experiences were placed at the center of our work, while “putting our beloved ideas about therapy and functioning to the side.” Our discussions led us to the realization that an ORCA-Stance could not just be limited to our clinical work, but to truly embody these principles they would have to be reflected in all aspects of the training program.
