Skip to main content

Assimilative Family Therapy

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy
  • 121 Accesses

Name of the Strategy or Intervention

Assimilative Family Therapy Model

Introduction

Pitta integrated Bowen Family Systems Therapy with cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, communications, and other systems therapies into Integrative Healing Family Therapy (Pitta 2005). As her thinking evolved, she began to consider context (Brabender and Fallon 2009) and common factors (Davis et al. 2012). She then labeled this therapy for individuals, couples, and families the Assimilative Family Therapy (AFT) model (Pitta 2014). The home theory of AFT is a systemic theory or family therapy model, and the concepts and interventions from other therapies can be from individually oriented treatment therapies and other family therapy models.

Theoretical Framework for the AFT Model

Four major models have been identified within the field of integration: technical, theoretical, common factors, and assimilative integration (Norcross and Goldfried 2005). Technical integration uses a systemic reasoning process...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Babcock, J., Gottman, J., Ryan, K., & Gottman, J. (2013). A component analysis of a brief psychoeducational couple’s workshop: One year follow-up results. Journal of Family Therapy, 35, 252–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beutler, L. E., & Harwood, T. M. (2002). What is and can be attributed to the therapeutic relationship? Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 32(1), 25–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen, M. (1976). Theory in the practice of psychotherapy. In P. J. Guerin (Ed.), Family therapy: Theory and practice (pp. 42–90). New York: Gardner Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brabender, V., & Fallon, A. (2009). Contextual variables requiring further examination. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, A., Chapman, J., Forman, E., & Beck, A. (2006). The empirical status of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 17–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Datchi, C., & Sexton, T. L. (2016). Integrating research and practice through intervention science: New developments in family therapy research. In T. L. Sexton & J. Lebow (Eds.), Handbook of family therapy (pp. 434–453). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, S. D., Lebow, J. L., & Sprenkle, D. H. (2012). Common factors of change in couple therapy. Behavior Therapy, 43(1), 36–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottman, J. (1999). The marriage clinic. New York: W. W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., & Petry, S. (2008). Genograms: Assessment and intervention (3rd ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Messer, S. B. (2015). In E. Neukrug (Ed.), The Sage encyclopedia of theory in counseling and psychotherapy (Vol. 1, pp. 63–66). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norcross, J. C., & Goldfried, M. (2005). Handbook of psychotherapy integration (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitta, P. (2005). Integrative healing couple’s therapy: A search for the self and each other. In Haraway (Ed.), Handbook of couples therapy (pp. 211–227). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitta, P. (2014). Solving modern family dilemmas: An assimilative therapy model. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wampold, B. E., & Imel, Z. E. (2015). The great psychotherapy debate: The evidence for what makes psychotherapy work. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patricia Pitta .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Pitta, P. (2019). Assimilative Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_1025-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_1025-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics