title: Navigating Critical Theory and Postmodernism: Social Justice and Therapist Power in Family Therapy.
abstract: The family therapy field encourages commitment to diversity and social justice, but offers varying ideas about how to attentively consider these issues. Critical informed models advocate activism, whereas postmodern informed models encourage multiple perspectives. It is often not clear how activism and an emphasis on multiple perspectives connect, engendering the sense that critical and postmodern practices may be disparate. To understand how therapists negotiate these perspectives in practice, this qualitative grounded theory analysis drew on interviews with 11 therapists, each known for their work from both critical and postmodern perspectives. We found that these therapists generally engage in a set of shared constructionist practices while also demonstrating two distinct forms of activism: activism through countering and activism through collaborating. Ultimately, decisions made about how to navigate critical and postmodern influences were connected to how therapists viewed ethics and the ways they were comfortable using their therapeutic power. The findings illustrate practice strategies through which therapists apply each approach.
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling and Family Sciences, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA.
authors.forename: Justine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: D'Arrigo-Patrick
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling and Family Sciences, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hoff
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling Psychology, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Knudson-Martin
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pepperdine University, Pepperdine, CA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tuttle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005196:Family Therapy; D005260:Female; D066296:Grounded Theory; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D033302:Postmodernism; D011209:Power, Psychological; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012935:Social Justice
keywords: Collaborative Activism; Critical Theory; Family Therapy; Postmodernism; Social Constructionism; Social Justice; activismo; constructivismo social; justicia social; posmodernismo; teoría crítica; terapia familiar; 后现代主义; 家庭心理治疗; 批评理论; 社会公正; 社会建构主义; 行动主义