What are you reading, MFT Department?

We have started an MFT (Marriage and Family Therapy) staff book club, and Working With Families of the Poor was the first book that we read. We chose this book because it presents the fundamentals of family-based interventions for clients struggling with chronic poverty-related crises and life stressors. We think that it is a "must read" for all therapists who want to make a difference when addressing the complex needs of lower income families. It provides a family systems model to transform the efforts that are typically uncoordinated into integrative, effective services that highlight the client's strengths.

Working With Families of the Poor is grounded in Salvador Minuchin's systemic model and it illustrates innovative ways to demonstrate family-focused care with the substance abuse population, with foster care agencies, and with mental health services that work with children. It also provides a practical, systemic approach to assisting lower income families and emphasizes the importance of one's family. The book is a practical resource to the novice as well as the seasoned therapist.

After this, our book club will be reading The Web of Life by Fritjof Capra. In between case reports, research papers, textbooks, the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), etc., we like to read books to further our professional development.

The Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) program has been offered since 1986 and currently has 120 students enrolled. To find out more about them, please visit their page!The MFT faculty book club is excited to be selecting and reading books that represent their common interest and allow them to share their diverse perspectives. Working With Families of the Poor is the MFT faculty book club's first book, and we are all excited to hear about their next one!

Working With Families of the Poor by Patricia Minuchin, Jorge Colapinto and Salvador Minuchin, Second Edition, The Guilford Press, 2007.

This book may be purchased at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Better World Books.

You may also find this book in both hard copy and electronic format at the Darling Library, or at your local library by searching WorldCat.org.

Tell us what you are reading:

We'd love to know what you are reading. To join the fun, fill out the "What are you reading?" questionnaire and submit it by following the instructions included.