PSY 408: FAMILY PSYCHOLOGY

This course will provide students with an understanding of normal family functioning including family interaction and communication patterns and normative family life cycle transitions. Students are introduced to various theoretical frameworks used to conceptualize family functioning, including family systems theory. Furthermore, the role of gender, culture, and ethnicity in families is examined. Students are familiarized with research methods and coding systems utilized in family research and will have the opportunity practice analyzing family interaction patterns portrayed in case examples. Students are also guided through interpretations of research reports published in family psychology journals. While the main focus in this class is on characteristics of normative family functioning, students will receive a brief introduction to the dynamics of families afflicted with mental illness and receive an overview of different family therapy models. This seminar-style course heavily emphasizes class discussions of theoretical and empirical literature in family psychology as well as discussions of videotaped examples of family interaction patterns. In addition, classes involve student presentations, lectures, and hands-on learning activities designed to illustrate principles of family dynamics.