Psychosomatics 49:275-a-276, May 2008
doi: 10.1176/appi.psy.49.3.275-a
© 2008 Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine
Family Behavioral Issues in Health and Illness
J. LeBron McBride, Ph.D., M.P.H., Binghamton, NY, The Haworth Press, 2006, 79 pages, ISBN 13: 978-0-7890-2944-7, $19.95
Joan S. Zofnass, D.S.W.
Key Words: Family Therapy
Described as "a reference detailing the connection between family and health," I found this 79-page primer to be a more cursory overview of the basic tenets of the family life cycle. For me, as a family therapist who has listened to all sorts of family "crises" over the past 30 years, Chapter 1 of the "Changing American Family" was a good review of basic family therapy concepts that identified some of the factors the clinician should consider in working with a family. This initial chapter goes into some detail as to how to do a family assessment, focusing on such questions as whether boundaries are too fluid or enmeshed and whether family roles are clearly defined or blurred.
The next chapter, on The Family Life Cycle selects six key stages of family development: the single young adult; the new couple; the family with young children; the family with adolescents; launching children and moving on, and the family in late life. After reading this abbreviated summary, the reader should not assume that he or she will be ready to negotiate the myriad of complexities that can be seen throughout the family life cycle. Each stage has prompted dozens, if not thousands, of articles and books reflecting those complexities, and this chapter barely scratches the surface of the topic.
Similarly, in Chapter Three, "Variations to the Family Life Cycle," I was disappointed to find only a few paragraphs on each of the topics addressed: the blended family; the single-parent family; the gay and lesbian family; the family with infertility; the adoptive family; families without children; families from other cultures; intergenerational families; and multiracial and multiethnic families. Having spent months working with families trying to deal with concerns over such issues as infertility, adoption, or a family member being gay, I can only feel skeptical that five paragraphs could prepare anyone for anything other than an awareness that such family dynamics exist. Clearly, considerably more education is essential before the reader would be ready to interview such a family, to understand what individuals and families in such situations might be facing, and to consider and implement treatment options to ameliorate their distress.
The final chapter, "Special Family Topics," touches on a vast array of topics, including divorce, abuse (child, spousal, elder), medical issues and family life, chronic medical illness and disability, dementia, bereavement, mental illness, and alcoholism. Again, the brevity with which each subtopic is discussed leaves the reader with too few, if any, new concepts or ideas to assist in identifying, assessing, or managing one of these situations.
Although this primer notes that "it is a basic introduction to family issues in healthcare," and the author acknowledges that "more extensive works are available," the book would be best used as a part of a much more in-depth review of family dynamics. Rather than being a good review book for the professional, I would see its place as an introduction for the student in the healthcare professions who wants to get a smattering of knowledge about the family and the potential impact of a variety of issues on the family dynamics of health.
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FOOTNOTES
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Joan S. Zofnass, D.S.W., is a psychotherapist working in New York City who has worked extensively with medically ill patients.
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