Using a cognitive-behavioral family model in conjunction with systems and behavioral family therapy models

Abstract Practitioners and family scientists can use cognitive-behavioral family theory (CBF), along with systems and behavioral theories, to gain deeper understandings of and to facilitate change in the family unit. CBF states that every individual has a family schema. This construct contains the complete set of cognitions that guide individuals as they behave, react, perceive, and process information in the family unit. Following an overview of CBF, the paper illustrates how practitioners and family scientists who use CBF in conjunction with other models can gain richer understandings of individual and unit-level explanations of family stability and change.