What does the literature say about family therapy in the school setting? A content analysis

Date

2011-05-30

Authors

Powell, Kim

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine what has been written about family therapy in the school setting in the professional literature of the fields of family studies, family therapy, and education from 1999 to July 2010. Selected terms related to systemic family therapy in the school setting were used to search 18 scholarly/academic journals for articles on this topic. The number of articles found was presented as a percentage of the total number of articles published in the journal in the specified period of time. The professions of the authors of the articles were presented. The articles that met the selection criteria were qualitatively analyzed for themes. One predominant theme emerged through analysis of the texts: the usefulness of systemic family therapy in the school setting. No article was found that did not support the use of family therapy in schools. Passages of text from the articles were presented to illustrate the theme. Most articles discussed the usefulness of family therapy in the school setting for children's behavior problems. Texts illustrated the uses of family therapy in the school setting for diverse issues including selective mutism, giftedness, disability, asthma management, and dating adolescent couples. Conclusions from this content analysis, along with limitations and implications, are discussed. Recommendations for future research in the three fields, family studies, family therapy, and education, in the area of family therapy in the school setting are discussed.

Description

Keywords

Education, Social sciences, Psychology, Family therapy, School-based counseling

Citation