Clinical Manual of Couples and Family Therapy

This book is written by three distinguished professors of psychiatry and is a clinical training manual for family and couples therapy.

The manual is designed for psychiatric residents rather than for more advanced therapists and, as the authors acknowledge, will probably be most useful when used with ongoing supervision. As such, it meets its purpose most admirably and is one of the best introductory texts of its kind that I have seen. I recommend it most highly for any psychiatric program. It may also be useful for other trainees, such as those in clinical psychology or clinical social work, and as a basic introductory text in family and couples treatment.

The theoretical approach used is McMaster's model of family functioning. It is particularly useful for training psychiatrists because it uses the biopsychosocial model, integrating medical, biological, psychological, and sociological formulations so that it combines individual psychotherapy, family and couples psychotherapy, and medical and psychopharmacological treatment approaches into a comprehensive model. A DVD, included in the package, provides training examples. Theory, clinical practice, research, and training are all points of focus.

The book is well written, jargon free, and deserves a place on the bookshelf of every psychiatric trainee.