Socioculturally Attuned Family Therapy

"Social justice concerns have long preoccupied responsible practitioners. Nevertheless, there has been a dearth of integration of power and equity issues in clinical practice. This timely and inspiring book provides a highly accessible guide to becoming aware of how to transform ubiquitous relational inequalities. It brilliantly demonstrates how practitioners of any school of family therapy and any level of professional development can integrate sociocultural attunement in their work. A unifying and compelling contribution to the psychotherapy field."
Celia J. Falicov, PhD, clinical professor, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego

"McDowell, Knudson-Martin, and Bermudez present a nuanced and sophisticated analysis of how to integrate societal context and power dynamics into all of the major family therapy theories. They thoroughly explain their approach with detailed guidelines for clinicians illustrated by vivid case examples. The authors do not ask family therapists to give up their theories; rather, they explain, in convincing detail, how to practice in a way that is socially responsible."
Karen S. Wampler, PhD, retired faculty member in family therapy and department chair at Michigan State University, former editor of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (2001 to 2004), editor-in-chief of forthcoming Handbook of Couple, Marital, and Family Therapy

Teresa McDowell, EdD, is a professor of marriage, couple, and family therapy and chair of the Department of Counseling Psychology at Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling in Portland, Oregon. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist, AAMFT clinical fellow and approved supervisor. Her work includes a focus on applying critical social theory to family therapy practice.

Carmen Knudson-Martin, PhD, LMFT, is a professor and director of the marriage, couple, and family therapy program at Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling. She is a past president of the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy, California Division, and recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy and Practice award from the American Family Therapy Academy. She is a founder of socio-emotional relationship therapy.

J. Maria Bermudez, PhD, is an associate professor in the marriage and family therapy program in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Georgia. She is an AAMFT clinical fellow and approved supervisor and licensed marriage and family therapist. Her work is anchored in feminist-informed and culturally responsive approaches to therapy, research, and supervision.