ABSTRACT
In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me Everything that comes out of me is authentically me Because I alone chose it-I own everything about me My body, my feelings, my mouth, my voice, all my actions, Whether they be to others or to myself-I own, my fantasies, My dreams, my hopes, my fears-I own all my triumphs and Successes, all my failures and mistakes. Because I own all of Me, I can become intimately acquainted with me-by so doing I can love me and be friendly with me in all my parts-I know There are aspects about myself that puzzle me, and other Aspects that I do not know-but as long as I am Friendly and loving to myself, I can courageously And hopefully look for solutions to the puzzles And for ways to find out more about me-However I Look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is authentically Me-If later some parts of how I looked, sounded, thought And felt turn out to be unfitting, I can discard that which is Unfitting, keep the rest, and invent something new for that Which I discarded-I can see, he ar, feel, think, say, and do I have the tools to survive, to be close to others, to be Productive to make sense and order out of the world of People and things outside of me-I own me, and therefore I can engineer me-I am m e and
(Reprinted with permission)
In the past two decades, family therapy from a systems perspective has gained momentum as an innovative force in counseling. It has profoundly influenced therapeutic interventions in the lives of client and their families (Schafer, Briesmeister, & Fitton, 1984; Stanton, 1984). Marriage and family therapists treat clients with a wide array of disorders in various stages of crisis. Treatment typically involves not only the individual, but may draw upon the strengths and dynamics of the family system for working toward problem resolution. The issues marriage and family therapists face are complex and run the course of the life cycle, from childhood and adolescent issues to difficulties faced by the aging population. The goal is not only to resolve the immediate problems presented for treatment, but also to build a foundation of wellness and to understand and accept transgenerational issues. Marriage and family therapy is one of the nation’s most rapidly advancing disciplines. Academic and professional study areas include human development; personality theory; psychopathology; assessment, diagnosis treatment, and intervention methods in marriage and family therapy; family life cycle and development; interactional and behavioral patterns; cross-cultural, minority, and gender issues; human sexuality; research design, methods, and statistics; and ethics and professional studies. Marriage and therapists can be found at the cutting edge of development knowledge in mental health. Marriage and family therapists work with:
• Families facing depression, major mental illness, or emotional disorders.
