Looking into the One‐way Mirror: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Reflecting Teams on Family Members

• Author: Ken Epstein,Thomas J. Metzler,Keith Armstrong,Justine Underhill,Eva C. Ihle,Jerika C. Norona,Ashley O'Connor,Tahl D. Sendowski
• Published date: 01 December 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12386
• Date: 01 December 2019

Looking into the One-way Mirror: A Pilot Study on

the Impact of Reflecting Teams on Family Members

KEITH ARMSTRONG*

,†

JUSTINE UNDERHILL

†,§

KEN EPSTEIN

†

THOMAS J. METZLER*

TAHL D. SENDOWSKI

¶

ASHLEY O’CONNOR**

JERIKA C. NORONA*

,†

EVA C. IHLE

††

Reflecting Teams (RTs) are an internationally recognized clinical consultation methodol-

ogy, first developed by Tom Andersen in 1985. Over the last three decades, family thera-

pists around the world have used RTs to enhance treatment. However, this innovation to

family therapy practice is not well-standardized nor evaluated. The pilot study described

in this article is an attempt to expand on the previous studies on RTs, and quantitatively

examines RTs conducted with family therapy participants at a university medical center

psychiatric institute. Preliminary analyses indicate that after participating in a single RT,

family members may feel more hopeful, believe they can better support each other in times

of stress, have more confidence in working together, and resolve conflicts. Additionally, the

analyses suggest that family members may feel better understood and have more ideas

about how to have a conversation with their family members, even though, after the RT,

they may not view their family differently. These preliminary results suggest that further

studies should explore the influence of RTs on family functioning.

Keywords: Reflecting Teams; Quantitative Research; Family Func tioning; Efficacy

Fam Proc 58:819–831, 2019

Clinical work with families can be challenging, as therapists can easily become

embroiled in their complex dynamics. One method that can be helpful for therapists is

the use of Reflecting Teams, which can help families and clinicians brainstorm new strate-

gies to improve communication, provide new perspectives on the issues discussed during

the session in order to improve family functioning, and support both the therapist and

family in overcoming impasses in therapy. Tom Andersen, a Norwegian family therapist

*San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, CA.

†

Department of Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA.

§

Edgewood Center for Families and Children, San Francisco, CA.

¶

Department of Education, University of California, Berkeley, CA.

**Iowa City Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Iowa City, IA.

††

Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, CA.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Keith Armstrong, San Francisco Depart-

ment of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, 4150 Clement Street, (116-p) San Francisco, CA 94121.

E-mail: keith.armstrong@va.gov

We would like to thank the following people for supporting this research: Kim Norman, Laura Ishka-

nian, Elizabeth Ozer, the IFT clinicians, Family Process reviewers, and most importantly, the families

who participated.

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Family Process, Vol. 58, No. 4, 2019 ©2018 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12386