Finding the Heart of Medical Family Therapy: A Content Analysis of Medical Family Therapy Casebook Articles

Authors

Richard Bischoff, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Paul R. Springer, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Daniel S. Felix, University of Nebraska–LincolnFollow
Cody S. Hollist, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

Paul R. Springer

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2011

Citation

Published in Families, Systems, & Health 29:3 (2011), pp. 184–196; doi: 10.1037/a0024637

Comments

Copyright © 2011 American Psychological Association. Used by permission.

Abstract

In an effort to identify the essential ingredients of medical family therapy, a content analysis of 15 peer-reviewed case studies in medical family therapy was conducted. The case studies were published from 1996 to 2007 in Families, Systems, & Health. Through a qualitative content analysis, three main themes emerged that describe the essence of the practice of medical family therapy: (1) The patient’s multisystemic experience of disease, (2) treatment is about caring, not just caregiving, and (3) elevating the patient as collaborator in the care team.