International Family Therapy

International Family Therapy brings the international plane and its emphasis on the global community of states to systemic family therapy. Informed by a coherent, multilateral perspective, each chapter covers a specific topic, including: discussions on the basis of state sovereignty and the role of international human rights law; the concept of human security and psychosocial risk to vulnerable populations; and the international economics and trade of public mental health initiatives for families across the globe. Written in an accessible style and peppered with vignettes and descriptive case examples, the text encourages the reader to better understand and implement family systems approaches from the perspective of the international system, with a focus on cultural considerations and best practice throughout. Combining key theoretical tenets of family therapy and essential knowledge of international relations relevant to global mental health, International Family Therapy is an essential guide for family therapy practitioners interested in working internationally.

Laurie L. Charlés, Ph.D., LMFT, implements systemic family therapy practice in international humanitarian relief contexts, in low- and middle-income countries, and with vulnerable populations in conflict-affected states. She is the author and co-editor of several books on family therapy, most recently, Family Therapy Supervision in Extraordinary Settings: Illustrations of Systemic Approaches in Everyday Clinical Work, with Dr. Thorana Nelson.

Part I. Desk Work and Preparation 1. Multilateral Family Therapy: An Introduction and an Overview 2. Families, States, and Self-Determination 3. International Human Rights Law and the Community of States 4. International Economics and Global Exchanges of Knowledge in Family Therapy 5. A Review of Best Practices and International Standards 6. Reflecting on Intervention: Moral Hazards of Multilateral Work Part II. On the Ground and in the Field 7. "We Don't Think of Our Children as Soldiers": Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Former Child Soldiers in a Region of East Africa 8. Bargaining for the Future: Family Identity and State-Citizen Relational Process in Post-War Kosovo 9. Who Keeps the Peace and Who Makes the Peace? How Family and Community Engagement Is Used to Strengthen Reconciliation and Transitional Justice Mechanisms in Sri Lanka 10. Frontline Responses to "Build Back Better" during two Public Health Emergencies of International Concern: Guinea during the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease Epidemic and Massachusetts at the Start of the Covid-19 Pandemic 11. Family Therapy Training in a Multilateral Project: The Transformative Process of a 3D Role-Play in Beirut Part III. Debrief and Reintegration 12. Leaving Home: Desk Work and Preparation 13. Safety and Risk Mitigation: At Home and in the Field 14. Leading from the Edge and Leading from the Center: Working in International Teams 15. Training the Next Generation of Skilled International Family Therapist Laurie L Charlés, Florence Lewis, Dorcas Matowe, Melissa Yzaguirre and Safia Jama