REDEFINING THE ROLE OF FAMILY-THERAPY IN PSYCHIATRIC RESIDENCY EDUCATION

In order to learn how psychiatry residents use family therapy training from residency in their clinical practices after graduation, the auth ors interviewed graduates from a large program in the metropolitan Nor theast and a small program in the rural South. Graduates from both pro grams were using family therapy theory and skills to a greater extent than they had anticipated during residency. However these skills were being used primarily to treat individual patients and to solve clinica l and administrative problems in settings other than traditional coupl e and family therapies. Based on the findings, the authors suggest a r estructuring of content and redefinition of role for family therapy tr aining in psychiatry residencies.