Normal Family Processes, Second Edition: Growing Diversity and Complexity

Over the past decade, social changes have redefined the boundaries of "normal family life, " calling for a re-examination of assumptions, both explicit and implicit, embedded in our cultural and clinical beliefs. Offering groundbreaking perspectives from leading clinical educators and researchers, this second edition of a classic work addresses the vast diversity of family forms, life challenges, and value systems in our rapidly changing society. The first edition of Normal Family Processes is recognized as a milestone in the clinical literature. Completely updated and expanded, this volume continues its pioneering work, covering the most current concepts of family functioning and frameworks for assessment and treatment. The book opens with a comprehensive overview of recent conceptual advances regarding normal family functioning. Bridging clinical and social science perspectives, Dr. Walsh places the consideration of normality into a sociohistorical perspective, reminding us that families in our society have always been diverse, and that our idealized model of the "normal family" may have blinded us to the potential for healthy functioning in a variety of family arrangements. Several leading family systems investigators then present state-of-the-art research models that delineate attributes of well-functioning families, discuss the efficacy of numerous clinical assessment instruments, and propose questions and suggestions for guiding intervention and future research. Addressing the diversity of contemporary family functioning patterns, the following two parts focus family structure, sociocultural context, and developmental context. Chapters cover the challenges faced by dual-earner,single-parent, and gay and lesbian families, as well as normative procedures in divorced, remarried, and adoptive families, and lesbian couples and their families. A broad, cross-cultural perspective on family normality is presented, with consideration given to ethnic differences, t

"A comprehensive, in depth, positive look at normal family processes." --Cherry L. Saenger, M.S., Mars Hill College, Mars Hill, North Carolina "Diversity and breadth of what constitutes a family, focus on normality." --Ester Rodriguez, Arizona State University, College of Nursing "It addresses all the issues that face the contemporary American family." --Michelle Fabian, University of Iowa, Communication Studies "Has the magic blend of all great textbooks. Conceived with love for the subject and delivered with care for the reader, it is lucid, substantive, comprehensive, organized, and astonishingly up-to-date. Walsh and her exceptional contributors offer the perfect centerpiece text for any course on what real families are really like." --Richard Chasin, MD "This superb book is the best currently available one-stop shopping source for current thinking about the myriad approaches to defining normality in families. Whether one is a family researcher, a family therapy clinician, or a student of family process, this volume provides you with a vast breadth of information, and it does so in an unusually well-organized and comprehensive fashion." --Peter Steinglass, M.D., Executive Director, Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy, Editor, Family Process "Froma Walsh's Normal Family Processes, 2nd Edition should be required reading for all who care about strengthening families....She addresses the thorny issues of family normalcy without ignoring external contexts that remain complex--job pressures, racism, gender issues, economics, poverty, illness, disability. She also addresses the reality of diversity in divorced, remarried, adoptive, gay and lesbian, ethnic and dual earner families....The focus on external influences makes this book unique and compelling because it is the context in which families must live, more than an Ozzie and Harriet normalcy, that determines which families remain resilient and which will break. I recommend this book highly for all who are interested in the survival of families." --Pauline Boss, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Family Science, University of Minnesota "Unusually rich....Each page is crammed with information. The very best contributors have been selected and they show us their best work. It is certain to be used by clinicians and scholars for a long time to come." --Donald A. Bloch, M.D., Editor Family Systems Medicine, Director Emeritus, Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy "This is an exceptional book. It reveals the complexity of normal family processes better than ever before. Scholarly, yet lucid and enjoyable, it will become a requirement to understand the multiple versions of the contemporary normal family." --Celia Jaes Falicov, Ph.D., University of California San Diego "In Normal Family Processes, Froma Walsh and her contributors provide the perspectives and knowledge that help us avoid our biases and the limitations of our own experience. In doing so these contributors reflect passion, and compassion, toward real families as they exist today....This work is essential....Its effects will be felt far beyond courses in family functioning; it also will impact the very nature of clinical intervention, family research and education, and public policy. It is not recommended reading; it should be required!" --James Alexander, Ph.D., University of Utah "A classic book from the early 80's becomes a classic for the 1990's. This new edition defines the cutting edge of the family systems understanding of families. The chapters are scholarly, practically useful, and engagingly written--an unbeatable combination. An extraordinary overview by Froma Walsh in the context of the first chapter introduces a consistently engaging and valuable series of chapters by leaders in the field. Froma Walsh has once again set the gold standard for meaty and accessible books on family processes." --William J. Doherty, Ph.D., Family Social Science, University of Minnesota "Academics will find it an invaluable text for teaching about family diversity. Practitioners will be able to use the text, particularly part three, as a resource for exploring family specific issues. In sum, the book is an excellent volume likely to join its preceding edition as a classic in the field." - -Families in Society "Walsh successfully provides a family systems foundation for the difficult task of defining family normality and health." -- Contemporary Psychology , .."text contains arguments and evidence that families of diverse forms can and do funciton effectively. The volume provides invaluable information for clinicians as they treat diverse families." -- Contemporary Psychology "I highly recommend this volume." -- Family Forum "Academics will find it an invaluable text for teaching about family diversity. Practitioners will be able to use the text, particularly part three, as a resource for exploring family specific issues. In sum, the book is an excellent volume likely to join its preceding edition as a classic in the field." -"-Families in Society" "Walsh successfully provides a family systems foundation for the difficult task of defining family normality and health." --"Contemporary Psychology" .,."text contains arguments and evidence that families of diverse forms can and do funciton effectively. The volume provides invaluable information for clinicians as they treat diverse families." --"Contemporary Psychology" "I highly recommend this volume." --"Family Forum "