Supporting Families Through Change: Family Counseling in Practice

This textbook offers a practical and theoretically grounded introduction to family counseling as a form of professional support within social work and the helping professions. It clarifies the meaning, characteristics, and functions of the family and presents counseling as a modern way of supporting individuals, couples, and families in demanding life situations. Attention is given to the professional identity of the counselor and to selected counseling theories, especially the person-centered approach of Carl R. Rogers and the Gestalt approach of Frederick S. Perls.The book explores marriage, couples, and family counseling and shows how counseling can be used in individual planning, crisis intervention, social rehabilitation, and family support. It also addresses burdens often experienced by families, such as communication problems, disability, addiction, bereavement, domestic violence, and divorce. The final chapters present case studies that illustrate the counseling process and the importance of respectful, sensitive, and resource-oriented accompaniment.