Reaching Out in Family Therapy: Home-Based, School, and Community Interventions

“Reaching Out in Family Therapy is specific and practical in its discussion of home-based and community interventions, capturing the relationship between clinical work and culture, race, and ethnicity. The book teaches theory and technique at the same time that it serves as a practical manual. This is a rich resource for today’s clinician who would venture into the real world of clients, particularly ethnic and racial minorities.” –Harry J. Aponte, MSW, author of Bread and Spirit

“A sure winner. This book is a hands-on, ready reference that gives family workers explicit instruction on how to successfully engage with parents, children, and adolescents in the home, school, and community. The authors explain how families, overwhelmed by poverty, racism, violence, or other stressors, may become alienated from needed support. Therapists learn to bond with these ‘difficult’ families and help them navigate the maze of complex systems in which they are embedded. Enhancing the therapist’s work and involvement, this book will be invaluable in the education and training of family therapists and social workers. Truly a gift.” –Elaine Pinderhughes, MSW, Professor Emeritus, Boston College Graduate School of Social Work

“This volume should be read by everyone working with families. It provides a practical, clear framework for multisystems intervention at the individual, family, community, and agency levels, with special attention to the needs of children and adolescents. Drawing carefully on the literature to back up their ideas, the authors bring many years of experience as clinicians and educators to this book. Without oversimplifying the difficult lives of the families they serve, they present thoughtful, resourceful, and manageable suggestions for practice. This is a hopeful, positive, and essential guide.” –Monica McGoldrick, LCSW, PhD (h.c.), Family Institute of New Jersey

“An exciting primer for change through multi-systemic interventions….Students will find in it a primary text for understanding the interrelationships among theory, practice, and supporting research, as well as for learning clear, step-by-step technique. It will help seasoned clinicians refine their craft and reinvigorate their commitment to change. Supervisors will find tips on providing focused guidance to their charges. And program directors can look to this book for a grounded, workable, hope-infused system of change for vulnerable families.” ― Readings Published On: 2001-03-02

Brenna Hafer Bry, PhD, is Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and has over 25 years of experience in home-based family, school, and community interventions and research. Dr. Bry has devoted her career to identifying at-risk youth and developing and evaluating early intervention programs for them and their families. One of her original school-based interventions recently was renamed the Behavioral Monitoring and Reinforcement Program and designated an “effective strategy” by the U.S. Department of Education’s Safe and Drug Free Schools Program.