Author Description

Couples and family psychology is a broad and general specialty in professional psychology that is founded on an understanding of the human experience in a systems context. For the public, the terms "couples" and "family" provide a user friendly translation but underestimate the multifaceted perspectives required of the specialty. Specialists in couples and family psychology have developed unique assessment and treatment methods that impact behavioral and dynamic factors across individuals, couples, families, and larger social systems. In Specialty Competencies in Couple and Family Psychology, Mark Stanton and Robert Welsh provide a comprehensive explanation of the competencies involved in the specialty and illustrates how complexity, reciprocity, interdependence, adaptation, and self-organization are important aspects of the epistemology of a couples and family approach. As the authors underscore for the reader, the specialty of couple and family psychology is not confined to marital or family therapy, but encompasses a broad orientation to human behavior that occurs in the context of relationships as well as larger macrosystemic dynamics. The conceptualization and the application of systemic concepts to human behavior includes a body of knowledge and evidence-based interventions that require specialty training and competence.