This passionate book discusses current ethical concerns in the field of family therapy. Dialogically written, the book emphasizes the primary importance of relationship as the foundation for a professional ethics, while challenging the myths of neutrality, objectivity, and symmetry of power in the therapist-client relationship. Chapters address a variety of areas in which feminist family therapists are attempting to elevate consciousness regarding viewpoints and practices that perpetuate the unequal and abusive use of power. The contributing authors explore what alternative viewpoints and practices might promote equality in the therapy session, the family, and the wider culture. Ethical Issues in Feminist Family Therapy places ethical issues in a relational and social constructionist context. Individual chapters address current areas of concern and controversy in the field and together touch on the central arenas of the profession: therapy, training, supervision, and research. Specific topics examined in the book include:


"cultural competence": specific ways therapists can and must address outward and internalized racism

ethical research in the field of psychotherapy: the requirement that research designs address relational implications

criteria for understanding the ethical implications of "dual relationships"

the political nature of effective psychotherapy and family therapy

training and supervision of family therapists utilizing the pedagogy of Brazilian educator Paulo FreireThis volume also addresses both the larger phenomenon of cultural oppression and the internalization of the dominant discourses that can blind professionals to their own blindness. Full of discussions on crucial topics with which all professionals must be concerned, Ethical Issues in Feminist Family Therapy is a stimulating resource for both students and feminist-based therapists in the field of family therapy.