BASIC FAMILY-THERAPY SKILLS .4. TRANSGENERATIONAL THEORIES OF FAMILY-THERAPY

This paper focuses on the basic skills and competencies of transgenera tional approaches to family therapy, the fourth report of a program of research surveys by the Basic Family Therapy Skills Project. In the f irst survey, a panel of family therapy educators listed the most criti cal or basic skills or competencies of beginning family therapists wit h a transgenerational orientation. In the third survey, self-selected respondents rated these items according to degree of importance for be ginning family therapists. Rankings of the items according to mean sco res of the Likert responses indicate that transgenerational family the rapy skills are founded in theory and can be identified behaviorally. The most important skills are those that use the self of the therapist to understand and utilize transgenerational family therapy skills for both therapist and clients. Also listed are skills that many raters d eemed ''generic '' rather than specifically related to transgeneration al family therapy. Other findings and their implications for the futur e training of family therapists are discussed. Although the paper is i ntended for family therapy educators interested in their colleagues' i deas about critical skills in trans-generational family therapy, theor ists and clinicians may also find it useful.