Why are marriage and family practitioners reluctant to embrace research and assessment in clinical practice? What do you think could be done to rectify this situation? Chapter 18

Chapter 17

1. Why are marriage and family practitioners reluctant to embrace research and assessment in clinical practice? What do you think could be done to rectify this situation?

Chapter 18

1. In cases of domestic violence, there are two major positions about responsibility and domestic violence which influence treatment options:
   • both parties are equally responsible for the violence (conjoint or couples therapy)
   • the perpetrator is unilaterally responsible for the violence (intimate justice theory and education)
   Take a position and defend the appropriateness of each approach, including the necessary conditions for selecting each one.

Case Study Question: “Case Illustration: Seth’s Sexual Misconduct”

When the Scott family came into family therapy, they did so reluctantly and with a good deal of anger. Sara Scott was furious with her husband, Seth, for sexually abusing their 12-year-old daughter, Jenny. The abuse had been going on for almost a year, and it was purely by accident that Sara discovered it when she was talking with Jenny about growing up to be a woman. Seth was removed from the house immediately. He both apologized for his actions and begged to come back. Sara was having none of it. Jenny stated that she was still afraid of her father and would never forgive him for what he did to her.

This is your first meeting with the entire family.

What do you think you could accomplish in seeing them together? What would be your limitations? What would you need to be wary of? What type of treatment do you think you would ultimately recommend? Why?