Latino Families in Therapy

This acclaimed work--now in an extensively revised second edition--provides an up-to-date conceptual framework and hands-on strategies for culturally competent clinical practice with Latino families and individuals. Practitioners and students gain an understanding of the family dynamics, migration experiences, ecological stressors, and cultural resources that are frequently shared by Latino families, as well as variations among them. Through many in-depth case illustrations, the author shows how to apply a multicultural and social justice lens to assessment and intervention that draw on each client's strengths. Creative ideas are presented for addressing frequently encountered clinical issues and challenges at all stages of the family life cycle.

New to This Edition
*Delineates the author's multidimensional, ecosystemic, and comparative approach (MECA) in greater detail; presents MECAmaps, MECAgenograms, and other innovative clinical tools.
*Incorporates the latest research and over a decade of social and demographic changes.
*Chapter on working with geographically separated families, including innovative uses of technology.
*Chapters on health disparities and on adolescents.
*Expanded discussions of second-generation risks and strengths and of same-sex marriage, intermarriage, divorce, and stepparenting.

Celia Jaes Falicov, PhD, is an internationally known family therapy author, teacher, and clinician. A clinical psychologist, she is Clinical Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, where she is also Director of Mental Health Services at the Student-Run Free Clinic. Past president of the American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA), Dr. Falicov is a Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and the American Orthopsychiatric Association and a recipient of AFTA’s Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy Theory and Practice Award. She serves on the advisory boards of several family therapy journals. Dr. Falicov is well known for her writings on family transitions, migration, and cultural perspectives in family therapy practice and training. Her current work focuses on addressing the mental health care needs of underserved families, facilitating empowerment groups for Latino parents, and training medical students to take into account the impact of migration and culture on health risks and strengths.

Introduction
I. Overview
1. MECA: A Meeting Place for Culture and Therapy
2. Latino Diversity: Contexts and Cultures
II. Migration and Acculturation
3. Journeys of Migration: Losses and Gains
4. Transnational Therapies: Separations and Reunifications
5. The Second-Generation Identity Struggles: Roots and Wings
III. Ecological Contexts
6. Mental Health Disparities: The Need for Equal and Just Care
7. Religion, Spirituality, and Traditional Healing Practices
8. Racism, Ethnic Prejudice, and Discrimination
9. The Challenge of School and Work
IV. Family Organization
10. The Persistence of Extended Kin
11. Couples: Presenting Issues and Approaches
V. Family Life Cycle
12. Raising Children in Culture and Context
13. Adolescents and Parents Crossing Cultural Borders
14. Young, Middle, and Late Adulthood Transitions
VI. Conclusion
A Reflection: Finding Strengths