This volume broadens the application of a family framework in more traditional psychological and psychiatric areas. In a field overly invested with ideological purity and factionalism, this presentation of clear models of integration deserves applause. Early in Ziffer's own superb chapter on "The Utilization of Psychological Testing in the Context of Family Therapy," he presents the book's raison d'Γͺtre:
To remain committed to the theoretical position of the dominance of contextual factors, and to thereby demonstrate viability to the traditional mental health establishment, family therapists have chosen to eschew many time-honored individual interventions, such as psychotropic medication, hospitalization, as well as psychological testing. The challenge for family therapy now is not to reject these interventions, but to find meaningful ways to employ them within a systems framework. [p. 38] The areas addressed by the book include: diagnosis; the incorporation of psychological testing in the evaluation and treatment of learning disorders; the use of psychiatric consultation; current psychiatric diagnostic categories (a sophisticated discussion); indications for and effects of psychotropic medication; a family model of hospitalization; successful physician-therapist collaboration in treating children with medical illnesses; the school as a subsystem in school-child-family interaction; family consultation; "live" versus videotaped supervision in the training of family therapists; integrating contextual treatment with hypnosis. Each chapter follows the basic outline: the "adjunctive" area's background and theory are explained, with presentation of an integrative clinical model. This is illustrated by extensive clinical material, and by discussion of the problems one might anticipate in applying this approach. Except for the chapter on psychiatric diagnosis, which is muddled by Szaszian philosophy, each author makes a major contribution to clinical practice and to the development of new treatment programs. This book will be of particular value to family therapists in a collaborative relationship with other health professionals and educators. The clarity of the models, the practical details, the extensive outlines and clinical illustrations all encourage experimentation and incorporation of bridging techniques between disciplines. The focus is on children, adolescents, and their families suffering from the enormous burdens of physical illness, psychiatric disorders, and learning and school problems. This text does not address couples issues nor those of the family life cycle.
In his introduction, Braulio Montalvo suggests that "perhaps what is of most lasting value in the family approach will survive as a crystallization of flexible procedures for delivering adjunctive therapies" (pp. xiv-xv). Although this comment is exaggerated, clearly this text does address the need to expand the boundaries of family treatment. The application of a family framework, a contextual understanding of behavior, and the creative application of family therapy training can add much to the mental health field. The sensitivity and thoroughness with which complex and sophisticated problems are approached using the new integrative clinical paradigms make this an extraordinarily valuable contribution.