For courses in Marriage and Family Counseling, Marital Therapy, and Family Therapy. Inviting, well-illustrated, and developmental in approach—a comprehensive look at the theory and practice of working with families. Considered the most thorough, well-written text in the field, Samuel T. Gladding’s, Family Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice, give readers clear coverage of all aspects of working with couples and families from proven, evidence-based theories. In a user-friendly organization and writing style, it covers important background information on healthy and functional families and different types of families, and includes an overview of how individual and family life cycles intertwine. The basic processes involved in treating couples and families are made clear, before delving into a dozen theoretical ways of treating families. Thoroughly updated, the Sixth Edition of Family Therapy, includes an abundance of examples and case studies, new illustrations, more than 175 new references, helpful learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter, a new chart comparing the different therapies, and more. User-friendly and well illustrated, this book is developmental in its approach to working therapeutically with families. The practitioner-oriented focus shows how to work with different types of families. Illustrations, diagrams, summaries, examples, case studies, and a glossary help readers understand and retain the main points in the text. NEW! Realigned chapters put new emphasis on some of the materials in former chapters.