EXAMINING THE MULTIFACETED NOTION OF ISOMORPHISM IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY-THERAPY SUPERVISION - A QUEST FOR CONCEPTUAL CLARITY

The notion of isomorphism has been recommended as a conceptual framewo rk to guide the practice of marriage and family therapy (MFT) supervis ion. The term is frequently cited in the MFT training literature but i s often used in different ways. A panel of MFT supervisors rated the i mportance and relevance to both therapy and supervision of a large poo l of variables. The majority of variables were found to be equally rel evant or isomorphic to the domains of MFT and MFT supervision. A quali tative interview with a small subset of the panelists suggested that t he concept, to varying degrees, has influenced their work as superviso rs. The implications of the results for theory development, research, and supervisory practice are discussed.