REFLECTIONS ON JEWISHNESS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR FAMILY-THERAPY

Family therapy as a field has increasingly recognized the importance o f families' cultural backgrounds in understanding family systems and c onducting effective therapy. Although some families' ethnicities fade with assimilation and time, even families who consider themselves marg inally Jewish are often deeply influenced by Jewish cultural backgroun d. Purely statistical studies of Jewish characteristics are hampered b y significant differences in Jewish sample populations (such as Easter n European and Mediterranean Jews) and the inadequacies of current mea suring techniques. This article links Jewish cultural traits to specif ic elements of Jewish history, traditions, and rheology; helps familia rize family therapists with the implications of a Jewish cultural back ground for families entering family therapy; and provides suggestions for treatment interventions.