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Family Therapy: A Necessary Core Competence for Psychiatric Trainees

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Book cover Education about Mental Health and Illness

Part of the book series: Mental Health and Illness Worldwide ((MHIW))

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Abstract

Psychiatric disorders interact with the social context of the affected individual. The family interactions may affect the mental health of the individual, and simultaneously, psychiatric disorders affect family members and relationships. As a psychiatrist, it is important to have insights in how patients and families can be stuck in negative circles reinforcing psychiatric symptoms and undermining good outcome. The interactions between psychiatric disorders and family interactions are discussed. Some theoretical concepts and techniques of systemic family therapy will be given, and the importance of family intervention in psychiatric care will be stressed. For the psychiatrist in training, this implicates that he should acquire the skills to perform a systematic assessment and plan intervention with attention for the family system. He should obtain knowledge of family management, interactions, and be able to recognize dysfunctional patterns.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

    Nathalie Raes, Ine Jespers & Gilbert Lemmens

  2. KARUS Psychiatric institute, Melle, Belgium

    Nathalie Raes

Authors
  1. Nathalie Raes
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  2. Ine Jespers
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  3. Gilbert Lemmens
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nathalie Raes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Tan Chay Hoon

  2. Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, USA

    Edmond Pi

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Raes, N., Jespers, I., Lemmens, G. (2018). Family Therapy: A Necessary Core Competence for Psychiatric Trainees. In: Hermans, M., Hoon, T., Pi, E. (eds) Education about Mental Health and Illness. Mental Health and Illness Worldwide. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0866-5_29-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0866-5_29-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-0866-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-0866-5

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

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