Formal [[wikt:intervention|intervention]]s with families to help individuals and families experiencing various kinds of problems have been a part of many cultures, probably throughout history. These interventions have sometimes involved formal procedures or [[ritual]]s, and often included the [[extended family]] as well as non-[[kinship|kin]] members of the [[community]] (see for example [[Ho'oponopono]]). Following the emergence of [[Society#Evolution of societies|specialization]] in various societies, these interventions were often conducted by particular members of a community – for example, a [[Tribal chief|chief]], [[priest]], [[physician]], and so on - usually as an ancillary function.<ref name=broderick>Broderick, C.B. & Schrader, S.S. (1991). The History of Professional Marriage and Family Therapy. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), [http://www.amazon.com/reader/0876306423?%5Fencoding=UTF8&ref%5F=sib%5Fdp%5Fpt#reader ''Handbook of Family Therapy. Vol. 2.'']  NY: Brunner/Mazel</ref>

Formal [[wikt:intervention|intervention]]s with families to help individuals and families experiencing various kinds of problems have been a part of many cultures, probably throughout history. These interventions have sometimes involved formal procedures or [[ritual]]s, and often included the [[extended family]] as well as non-[[kinship|kin]] members of the [[community]] (see for example [[Ho'oponopono]]). Following the emergence of [[Society#Evolution of societies|specialization]] in various societies, these interventions were often conducted by particular members of a community – for example, a [[Tribal chief|chief]], [[priest]], [[physician]], and so on - usually as an ancillary function.<ref name=broderick>Broderick, C.B. & Schrader, S.S. (1991). The History of Professional Marriage and Family Therapy. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), [http://www.amazon.com/reader/0876306423?%5Fencoding=UTF8&ref%5F=sib%5Fdp%5Fpt#reader ''Handbook of Family Therapy. Vol. 2.'']  NY: Brunner/Mazel</ref>

''Family therapy'' as a distinct [[professional]] practice within [[Western culture]]s can be argued to have had its origins in the [[social work]] movements of the 19th century in [[England]] and the [[United States]].<ref name=broderick/> As a branch of [[psychotherapy]], its roots can be traced somewhat later to the early 20th century with the emergence of the ''child guidance'' movement and ''marriage counseling''.<ref name=sholevar>Sholevar, G.P. (2003). [[Family]] Theory and Therapy. In Sholevar, G.P. & Schwoeri, L.D. [http://www.google.com.au/books?id=lQh0y2E_zzcC&pg=PR3&dq=isbn:0880485183&as_brr=0&sig=51q_iShG76ZZ2mqK16iR4Kw6JlA#PPP1,M1 ''Textbook of Family and Couples Therapy: Clinical Applications.''] Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing Inc.</ref> The formal development of family therapy dates to the [[1940s]] and early [[1950s]] with the founding in [[1942]] of the ''American Association of Marriage Counselors'' (the precursor of the [[AAMFT]]), and through the work of various independent [[wikt:clinician|clinicians]] and groups - in [[England]] ([[John Bowlby]] at the [[Tavistock Clinic]]), the [[United States|US]] ([[John Bell]], [[Nathan Ackerman]], [[Christian Midelfort]], [[Theodore Lidz]], [[Lyman Wynne]], [[Murray Bowen]], [[Carl Whitaker]], [[Virginia Satir]]), and [[Hungary]] ([[D.L.P. Liebermann]]) - who began seeing family members together for observation or therapy sessions.<ref name=broderick/><ref>Silverman, M. & Silverman, M. Psychiatry Inside the Family Circle. ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]'', 46-51. 28 July 1962.</ref> There was initially a strong influence from [[psychoanalysis]] (most of the early founders of the field had psychoanalytic backgrounds) and [[social psychiatry]], and later from [[Behaviorism|learning theory]] and [[behavior therapy]] - and significantly, these clinicians began to articulate various theories about the nature and functioning of the family as an entity that was more than a mere aggregation of individuals.<ref name=sholevar/>

''Family therapy'' as a distinct [[professional]] practice within [[Western culture]]s can be argued to have had its origins in the [[social work]] movements of the 19th century in [[England]] and the United States.<ref name=broderick/> As a branch of [[psychotherapy]], its roots can be traced somewhat later to the early 20th century with the emergence of the ''child guidance'' movement and ''marriage counseling''.<ref name=sholevar>Sholevar, G.P. (2003). [[Family]] Theory and Therapy. In Sholevar, G.P. & Schwoeri, L.D. [http://www.google.com.au/books?id=lQh0y2E_zzcC&pg=PR3&dq=isbn:0880485183&as_brr=0&sig=51q_iShG76ZZ2mqK16iR4Kw6JlA#PPP1,M1 ''Textbook of Family and Couples Therapy: Clinical Applications.''] Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing Inc.</ref> The formal development of family therapy dates to the [[1940s]] and early [[1950s]] with the founding in [[1942]] of the ''American Association of Marriage Counselors'' (the precursor of the [[AAMFT]]), and through the work of various independent [[wikt:clinician|clinicians]] and groups - in [[England]] ([[John Bowlby]] at the [[Tavistock Clinic]]), the [[United States|US]] ([[John Bell]], [[Nathan Ackerman]], [[Christian Midelfort]], [[Theodore Lidz]], [[Lyman Wynne]], [[Murray Bowen]], [[Carl Whitaker]], [[Virginia Satir]]), and [[Hungary]] ([[D.L.P. Liebermann]]) - who began seeing family members together for observation or therapy sessions.<ref name=broderick/><ref>Silverman, M. & Silverman, M. Psychiatry Inside the Family Circle. ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]'', 46-51. 28 July 1962.</ref> There was initially a strong influence from [[psychoanalysis]] (most of the early founders of the field had psychoanalytic backgrounds) and [[social psychiatry]], and later from [[Behaviorism|learning theory]] and [[behavior therapy]] - and significantly, these clinicians began to articulate various theories about the nature and functioning of the family as an entity that was more than a mere aggregation of individuals.<ref name=sholevar/>

The movement received an important boost in the mid-1950s through the work of [[anthropology|anthropologist]] [[Gregory Bateson]] and colleagues – [[Jay Haley]], [[Donald deAvila Jackson|Donald D. Jackson]], [[John Weakland]], [[William Fry]], and later, [[Virginia Satir]], [[Paul Watzlawick]] and others – at [[Palo Alto]] in the [[United States|US]], who introduced ideas from [[cybernetics]] and [[general systems theory]] into [[social psychology]] and [[psychotherapy]], focusing in particular on the role of [[Communication theory|communication]] (see [[Bateson Project]]). This approach eschewed the traditional focus on individual psychology and historical factors – that involve so-called ''[[linear causation]]'' and ''content'' – and emphasized instead ''[[feedback]]'' and ''[[homeostatic]]''  mechanisms and ''“rules”'' in ''here-and-now interactions'' – so-called ''[[circular causation]]'' and ''process'' – that were thought to maintain or exacerbate problems, whatever the original cause(s).<ref>Guttman, H.A. (1991). Systems Theory, Cybernetics, and Epistemology. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), [http://www.amazon.com/reader/0876306423?%5Fencoding=UTF8&ref%5F=sib%5Fdp%5Fpt#reader ''Handbook of Family Therapy. Vol. 2.'']  NY: Brunner/Mazel</ref><ref name=becvar>Becvar, D.S., & Becvar, R.J. (2008). [http://www.amazon.com/Family-Therapy-Systemic-Integration-7th/dp/0205609236/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top ''Family therapy: A systemic integration.''] 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.</ref> ''(See also [[systems psychology]] and [[systemic therapy]].)''  This group was also influenced significantly by the work of [[United States|US]] [[psychiatrist]], [[hypnotherapy|hypnotherapist]], and [[brief therapy|brief therapist]], [[Milton H. Erickson]] - especially his innovative use of strategies for change, such as ''paradoxical directives'' ''(see also [[Reverse psychology]])''. The members of the [[Bateson Project]] (like the founders of a number of other schools of family therapy, including [[Carl Whitaker]], [[Murray Bowen]], and [[Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy]]) had a particular interest in the possible [[wikt:psychosocial|psychosocial]] causes and treatment of [[schizophrenia]], especially in terms of the putative "meaning" and "function" of [[medical sign|sign]]s and [[symptom]]s within the family system. The research of [[psychiatrist]]s and [[psychoanalyst]]s [[Lyman Wynne]] and [[Theodore Lidz]] on ''communication deviance'' and ''roles'' (e.g., ''pseudo-mutuality'', ''pseudo-hostility'', ''schism'' and ''skew'') in families of [[schizophrenia|schizophrenics]] also became influential with ''systems-communications''-oriented theorists and therapists.<ref name=sholevar/><ref name=barker>Barker, P. (2007). [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=TsBZVb3ccCcC&source=gbs_navlinks_s ''Basic family therapy'']; 5th edition. Wiley-Blackwell.</ref> A related theme, applying to [[dysfunctional family|dysfunction]] and [[psychopathology]] more generally, was that of the "[[identified patient]]" or ''"presenting problem"'' as a manifestation of or surrogate for the family's, or even society's, problems. ''(See also [[double bind]]; [[family nexus]].)''

The movement received an important boost in the mid-1950s through the work of [[anthropology|anthropologist]] [[Gregory Bateson]] and colleagues – [[Jay Haley]], [[Donald deAvila Jackson|Donald D. Jackson]], [[John Weakland]], [[William Fry]], and later, [[Virginia Satir]], [[Paul Watzlawick]] and others – at [[Palo Alto]] in the [[United States|US]], who introduced ideas from [[cybernetics]] and [[general systems theory]] into [[social psychology]] and [[psychotherapy]], focusing in particular on the role of [[Communication theory|communication]] (see [[Bateson Project]]). This approach eschewed the traditional focus on individual psychology and historical factors – that involve so-called ''[[linear causation]]'' and ''content'' – and emphasized instead ''[[feedback]]'' and ''[[homeostatic]]''  mechanisms and ''“rules”'' in ''here-and-now interactions'' – so-called ''[[circular causation]]'' and ''process'' – that were thought to maintain or exacerbate problems, whatever the original cause(s).<ref>Guttman, H.A. (1991). Systems Theory, Cybernetics, and Epistemology. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskern (Eds.), [http://www.amazon.com/reader/0876306423?%5Fencoding=UTF8&ref%5F=sib%5Fdp%5Fpt#reader ''Handbook of Family Therapy. Vol. 2.'']  NY: Brunner/Mazel</ref><ref name=becvar>Becvar, D.S., & Becvar, R.J. (2008). [http://www.amazon.com/Family-Therapy-Systemic-Integration-7th/dp/0205609236/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top ''Family therapy: A systemic integration.''] 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.</ref> ''(See also [[systems psychology]] and [[systemic therapy]].)''  This group was also influenced significantly by the work of [[United States|US]] [[psychiatrist]], [[hypnotherapy|hypnotherapist]], and [[brief therapy|brief therapist]], [[Milton H. Erickson]] - especially his innovative use of strategies for change, such as ''paradoxical directives'' ''(see also [[Reverse psychology]])''. The members of the [[Bateson Project]] (like the founders of a number of other schools of family therapy, including [[Carl Whitaker]], [[Murray Bowen]], and [[Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy]]) had a particular interest in the possible [[wikt:psychosocial|psychosocial]] causes and treatment of [[schizophrenia]], especially in terms of the putative "meaning" and "function" of [[medical sign|sign]]s and [[symptom]]s within the family system. The research of [[psychiatrist]]s and [[psychoanalyst]]s [[Lyman Wynne]] and [[Theodore Lidz]] on ''communication deviance'' and ''roles'' (e.g., ''pseudo-mutuality'', ''pseudo-hostility'', ''schism'' and ''skew'') in families of [[schizophrenia|schizophrenics]] also became influential with ''systems-communications''-oriented theorists and therapists.<ref name=sholevar/><ref name=barker>Barker, P. (2007). [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=TsBZVb3ccCcC&source=gbs_navlinks_s ''Basic family therapy'']; 5th edition. Wiley-Blackwell.</ref> A related theme, applying to [[dysfunctional family|dysfunction]] and [[psychopathology]] more generally, was that of the "[[identified patient]]" or ''"presenting problem"'' as a manifestation of or surrogate for the family's, or even society's, problems. ''(See also [[double bind]]; [[family nexus]].)''

==Licensing and degrees==

==Licensing and degrees==

Family therapy practitioners come from a range of professional backgrounds, and some are specifically qualified or [[licensure|licensed/registered]] in family therapy (licensing is not required in some jurisdictions and requirements vary from place to place). In the [[United Kingdom]], family therapists are usually [[psychologist]]s, [[nurse]]s, [[psychotherapist]]s, [[social work]]ers, or [[Licensed Professional Counselor|counselors]] who have done further training in family therapy, either a [[diploma]] or an [[M.Sc.]]. However, in the [[United States]] there is a specific degree and license as a [[Marriage]] and Family therapist.

Family therapy practitioners come from a range of professional backgrounds, and some are specifically qualified or [[licensure|licensed/registered]] in family therapy (licensing is not required in some jurisdictions and requirements vary from place to place). In the [[United Kingdom]], family therapists are usually [[psychologist]]s, [[nurse]]s, [[psychotherapist]]s, [[social work]]ers, or [[Licensed Professional Counselor|counselors]] who have done further training in family therapy, either a [[diploma]] or an [[M.Sc.]]. However, in the United States there is a specific degree and license as a [[Marriage]] and Family therapist.

Prior to 1999 in [[California]], counselors who specialized in this area were called Marriage, Family and Child Counselors. Today, they are known as Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT), and work variously in private practice, in clinical settings such as hospitals, institutions, or counseling organizations.

Prior to 1999 in [[California]], counselors who specialized in this area were called Marriage, Family and Child Counselors. Today, they are known as Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT), and work variously in private practice, in clinical settings such as hospitals, institutions, or counseling organizations.

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Marriage and family therapists in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] often seek degrees from accredited Masters or Doctoral programs recognized by the [http://www.aamft.org/about/COAMFTE/AboutCOAMFTE.asp Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education](COAMFTE), a division of the [http://www.aamft.org/ American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy].  For [[accredited]] programs, click [http://www.aamft.org/cgi-shl/twserver.exe?run:COALIST here].

Marriage and family therapists in the United States and [[Canada]] often seek degrees from accredited Masters or Doctoral programs recognized by the [http://www.aamft.org/about/COAMFTE/AboutCOAMFTE.asp Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education](COAMFTE), a division of the [http://www.aamft.org/ American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy].  For [[accredited]] programs, click [http://www.aamft.org/cgi-shl/twserver.exe?run:COALIST here].

Requirements vary, but in most states about 3000 hours of supervised work as an intern are needed to sit for a licensing exam. MFTs must be licensed by the state to practice. Only after completing their education and internship and passing the state licensing exam can a person call themselves a Marital and Family Therapist and work unsupervised.

Requirements vary, but in most states about 3000 hours of supervised work as an intern are needed to sit for a licensing exam. MFTs must be licensed by the state to practice. Only after completing their education and internship and passing the state licensing exam can a person call themselves a Marital and Family Therapist and work unsupervised.

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