This panel reviews diverse therapeutic strategies for complex family cases. Topics include prioritizing violence intervention, encouraging elder and family involvement, and reinforcing strengths in marital therapy. Case discussions feature a suicidal father in need of employment and support, a sex offender’s family requiring accountability and extended family input, and a pregnant teen facing depression and neglect, with an emphasis on mobilizing community and family resources for care and recovery.
Madanes discusses the evolution of psychotherapy toward self-help and family-based approaches. Emphasizing the family as a healing system, she outlines strategies for addressing anxiety, abuse, and reconciliation through an 18-step program grounded in empathy, hope, and non-violence. Case studies illustrate practical interventions, and the discussion includes the use of self-disclosure, the limits of medication, and the importance of confronting violence and substance abuse in family systems. Includes response from Mary Goulding.
