This article presents a model for conducting contextual therapy with the aim of contributing to the further development of contextual therapy. Its founder, Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, introduced the core of this approach, relational ethics, as a new paradigm for family therapy, which has been received well. The authors presume that the training of (upcoming) contextual therapists and conducting contextual therapy itself can benefit from more concrete guidelines and a phased structure. It can also enhance the further development, research and accountability of this approach. Therefore, using a design-oriented method, the authors developed a model that helps to shape a contextual therapy process and the applicable contextual interventions. It is based on strengthening connectedness in close relationships, using relational ethics as its compass. The framework of the model consists of three phases: exploring connectedness in close relationships, modifying connectedness in close relationships and reinforcing connectedness in close relationships, whereby the goals of each of these phases are defined as process elements and expanded into guidelines for nineteen interventions. The ingredients for these interventions are derived from two recent studies on the practice of Nagy and on the practice of current contextual therapists. The model is explained and substantiated based on contextual theory and therapy. Final remarks are presented in the conclusion.
Disclosures of sibling sexual behavior (SSB) usually affect all family members but there remains, however, a paucity in studies on therapeutical family interventions and how they can initiate changes in families. This study was designed to explore relational impacts of SSB disclosures, goals for therapy and interventions that helped a family initiate the recovery process after a SSB disclosure. A single case study design was used to analyze a family's long-term therapy process. Data on this N = 1 study comprised 18 interviews with involved therapists, five interviews with involved family members, therapy files, and notes on family sessions. Data was analyzed using a thematic approach. Relational traumas were experienced in broken relationships, relationships under pressure and damaged trust between family members. Therapy goals were to (1) recreate family's safety, (2) help the family process the SSB consequences and (3) restore trust and search for relationship healing. Appropriate interventions to target the goals included individual-centered psycho trauma treatment as well as interventions for the parents, the involved siblings, and the uninvolved siblings, followed by sessions between the involved siblings and with the whole family. Therapy outcomes were found in reduced individual trauma symptoms, a recreated sense of family safety, the start of relational trauma processing, and newfound forms of sibling/family relationships. This study provides a unique and comprehensive insight into a family's healing process after SSB disclosures from the perspectives of both professionals and family members. The effective interventions identified in this study may provide tools for therapists working with these families. This study may also offer greater insights into both the abusive and mutual types of SSB.
This research focuses on dinner conversations in family-style group care. Children, who cannot live with their biological families anymore, are given shelter in these family-style group care settings. For the development of an attachment relationship between children and their Professional Foster Parents (PFPs), it is important that the children feel that they are listened to in order to get an affective and intimate relationship with the parents. In this conversation-analytic research we analysed PFPs’ involvement in multiple activities simultaneously, namely listening and eating, which is referred to as ‘multi-activity’. The analyses have shown systematic ways in which PFPs coordinate their involvement in the activities of ‘doing’ listening and eating, which are (i) when parents avert their gaze from the telling child, they break the social rule which states that hearers need to look at speakers during the telling. We found that when averting their gaze, PFPs do head nods and linguistic means or positioning their bodies in the direction of the telling child. This research contributes to knowledge about interaction between adolescents and PFPs. It further contributes to knowledge about how human beings are able to coordinate multiple activities simultaneously. This is the accepted version (post-print) of the article.
Individuals are increasingly confronted with ‘diseases of modernity’, such as stress and burnout. While insights from the work-family interface have mainly pointed towards demands and resources coming from the work and nonwork domains, the proposed multi-method PhD research project aims to contribute to contemporary scholarly and societal work-life and burnout debates by presenting an alternative theoretical lens on the development of mental health complaints in today’s society, especially among the younger Millennial generation. The project aims to shed light on how and why Millennial employees engage in a so-called ‘work/nonwork image (re)construction process’.The project will reflect on the following questions:How, why and when do individual workers engage in a process in which they construct their image(s) in the work and nonwork domains? What are the relationships, if any, between the image (re)construction process individuals engage in and potential positive- and negative consequences?The findings are expected to have important implications not only for preventive measures for individuals and organizations, but also for possible avenues for future studies. Project Partner: Nyenrode Business Universiteit
