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The Single-Parent Family and the Family Therapist: About Invitations and Positioning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2012

Peter Rober
Peter Rober*
Affiliation:
Context, Center for Marital, Family and Sex Therapy, University Hospital at Leuven University, Belgium; Institute for Family and Sexuality Studies, K.U. Leuven, Belgium.peter.rober@med.kuleuven.be
*
*Address for correspondence: Peter Rober, Context, Center for Marital, Family and Sex Therapy, University Hospital at Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium.
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Abstract

Single parent families sometimes represent specific challenges to family therapists. In this article a dialogical frame with important concepts such as voice and positioning is proposed to reflect on family therapy practice. This frame is used to reflect on a common invitation in family therapy with single-parent families: the invitation to take the place of the absent parent. A case of family therapy with a single-parent family is presented in order to illustrate the importance of flexibility in the therapist's positioning and the way the therapist's experiencing can be used as an empathic bridge to create a dialogical space in which the important issues at stake can be addressed.

Keywords

family therapytherapistpositioningsingle-parent family
Type
Articles
Information
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , 01 September 2010 , pp. 221 - 231
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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