The following interview highlights the career and rich professional influence of Dr. Michael Shaughnessy, a prolific writer, researcher, and educator. Dr. Shaughnessy has presented hundreds of national and international papers, presentations, and publications. Dr. Shaughnessy is the Associate Editor for The Journal of Education and Human Development, Member of the Institute of Logotherapy, former Chief Editor of the Gifted Education International Journal, and Past President of National Association for Creative Children and Adults.
The following theoretical article presents a contemporary Adlerian Family Counseling model, which describes the salient elements of Adlerian Family Counseling as well as its implications for marriage, family, and couple counselors. The authors of the article cover areas of Adlerian Family Counseling and its integration into family systems. Specifically, the article represents contemporary Adlerian Counseling and its application to family systems as well as working with diverse family and couples' contemporary issues. Lastly, the article pays special attention to working with cultural and LGBTQIA + areas of marriage, family, and relational counseling.
Social existence is vital for any person's survival. Social existence theory relates to how individuals conceptualize their existence in a social world, learn from others, and communicate with others. We discuss constructivism, social learning, and the influence of language, as well as the influence of language on society's views of mental illness and the systemic nature of these views.
This article describes the relationship between trauma in early childhood and attachment style, with the goal that clinicians can more effectively tailor individualized interventions to their clients. Recognizing how and why trauma influences attachment styles will provide the clinician with a more thorough understanding of the client and the client’s family system and will allow the clinician to select the most appropriate treatment interventions. Implications are provided for marriage, relationship, and family counselors. Furthermore, recommendations for future research are provided.
Marriage, family, and couple counselors should be educated in various treatment options for sexually abused adolescents, due to the frequency, and severity of this form of abuse. The long-term effects of sexual abuse can be devastating for victims. Posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression are potential issues resulting from sexual abuse. The present review analyzes three different therapeutic approaches family counselors may use for working with sexually abused children and adolescents. These approaches include trauma-focused-cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy and expressive art therapy, eye movement and desensitization, and reprocessing therapy. Implications for family, marriage, and couples’ counselors are provided recommendations as well for future research.
The use of integrative models in family, marriage, and individual counseling continues to show promising therapeutic results. The basic concept of theoretical integration involves a purposeful combination of principles, practices, and common factors from different theories. This form of therapy has been employed for the past 50 years and has provided therapists with numerous techniques which have shown to be effective for a variety of clinical issues. The present article provides clarity on what integrative therapy is, its history, and coverage on its advantages and disadvantages. In addition, a literature review of existing integrative models and contemporary family models is provided. The article further covers Dr. Jay Lebow’s integrative systemic therapy, its importance, modes of operation, barriers, and its implication and future in marriage and family counseling.
In this article, the professional school counseling community is introduced to the value of addressing student spirituality as a way to foster personal and social growth. Prior to discussing the robust theoretical and research foundation for this endeavor, 3 workable definitional strands of spirituality are summarized and applied to educational settings. Strategies for transitioning from the conceptual to school practice are explored, including the key issues related to legal and ethical practice and school counselor education and training. Finally, recommendations for future school counseling research in this area are briefly examined.
Theory development is an intentional process by which marriage and family counselors may bridge the gap between research and practice. The theory building process includes inductive and deductive forms of reasoning, qualitative and quantitative approaches to knowledge development, and diffusion of innovations. Grounded theory provides an accessible method for bridging the gap. Theoretical orientation development is a lifelong process involving the interaction of personal and professional influences in theory selection and elaboration. Examination of personal values and values implicit in theories afford opportunities for ongoing professional development.
The purpose of the article is for couples to interview each other, to complete a questionnaire, and to discuss their respective opinions as to what intimacy means to each of them. The article includes an overview of the importance of intimacy in relationships. The authors introduce the Holt Relationship Intimacy Questionnaire (HRIQ) as a way of accessing what intimacy means to each partner.
