Continuing education and training

Periodically, this department publishes descriptions of training programs in family therapy offered at both university and free-standing institutes. This month we are fortunate to have a review of the comprehensive program at the Family Institute of Westchester from two well-known members of the field, Fredda Herz, Ph.D., Director of Training, and Betty Carter, M.S.W., Director of the Institute. The training is offered in three programs, in­cluding a comprehensive two- or three-year track, and a two-year externship. Of special interest is the focus on conventional family systems thinking, supplemented by emphasis on those issues and approaches on which Betty Carter has so widely written and lectured, including the family life cycle, ethnic influences on families, and feminist issues in families and family therapy. This Institute stands out as a model of excellence in its attention to the development of a comprehensive curriculum, its concern in the ongoing involvement and growth of its students, its focus on evaluation of its program and the continuing revision of its courses and clinical approaches, and its research orientation. This Continuing Education and Training section also includes a report from an outstand­ing conference held in June at the New Jersey Medical School-University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. The topic of a clinical perspective on problem behaviors in adolescence provided a special focus on areas of sexual issues, substance abuse, suicide, and antisocial behavior. Professionals in the field of family therapy will find it especially enriching to learn of the current views of experts in these concerns, who often bring dif­ferent perspectives and knowledge that find integration in the challenges of daily clinical practice. Dr. James Comer presented the keynote address, and Dr. Diane Shrier, Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Dr. Robert L. Johnson, Director of Adolescent Medicine, have written a succinct and informative summary of this conference.