ABSTRACT
Family therapy approaches were first conceived and implemented in re sponse to specific types of mental health issues that challenged the practitio ners of the time. The first “special problems” addressed by the pioneering family therapists were those of the seriously mentally ill (Nichols and Schwartz, 2001). This chapter follows in this longest of family therapy tra ditions: the application of family therapy perspectives to particular mental health and relational problems. Four specific problem areas are addressed: substance abuse, divorce, family violence, and schizophrenia. Each prob lem area is reviewed in relation to the contribution that marriage and family therapy approaches have made to the understanding and treatment of prob lems that arise in individuals (children and adults), couples, and families where these four issues surface.
