MEDICAL FAMILY-THERAPY FOR CHILDHOOD CHRO NIC ILLNESS

This article describes a medical family therapy approach to working wi th families of a child with a chronic medical illness. Medical family therapy combines the systemic paradigm of family therapy with the biop sychosocial paradigm of medicine to treat patients and families who ar e experiencing medical illness or disability. This article describes h ow family dynamics influence children's health and how children's heal th influences family dynamics. It then addresses special assessment is sues, treatment issues, and collaboration issues for medical family th erapists when a child has a chronic illness.