About this Issue
Vol. 3, No. 2 – 2009

Many of our readers have faced personal hardship while serving in a role attending to the suffering of others. In this issue, we study the Life-Span of the caregiver. After my years in front-line therapy, working with parents who hoped to have their children return from the protective custody of the government, I moved to university teaching. Ten years later, I returned to front-line work, more careful this time to balance my workload and also more able to connect the spirit within me with that of my clients.

I notice that Dr. John Banmen has faced a demanding training schedule while flying across Asia, with several writing projects and appearances at conferences, a board member for therapy organizations, fitting time in with his family while maintaining his private practice as soon as he arrives home. No wonder his concerned mother is presenting her article to our journal: “Use the Satir Family Tools to Reduce Burnout!” Kidding aside, and although she is not his parent in real life, Dr. Catherine Caston served as Dr. Banmen’s mother through a Satir Family Reconstruction exercise. Their collegial closeness remains, and we are benefited to having her dissertation research in this issue!

Dr. Catherine Caston offers evidence-based research on the needs of Afro-American caregivers who work with elderly, frail relatives for over six months without relief. “Using the Satir Family Tools to Reduce Burnout in Family Caregivers” offers Self-Directed Skills to assist these caregivers.

From the very beginning of their career training, it is important for students to focus on their own personal growth. Dr. Lou Vivian W.Q. examines social work training for students at the Bachelor’s level at the University of Hong Kong. Her article is entitled: “Enhancing Personal Growth for Social Work Students: Using the Satir Model.” Along with her own university responsibilities, she is one of our esteemed international editors.

Anne Morrison and Judy Ferris offer “The Satir Model with Female Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.” Judy and Anne co-wrote this article based on their own clinical experience - both within the healing groups that they jointly facilitated, as well as within their private practice. They discovered that the Satir Model was a perfect fit for these women - so that they could reclaim their full life potential.

How is our own Life-Span development connected with human evolution? One of my favorite writers is Ken Wilber, who offers a connection between psychological growth and spiritual states of consciousness along a spectrum of human evolution. As a Satir-based therapist, I applaud that he situates psychology with spirituality, yet I was dismayed that he largely ignores the pioneering work of Virginia Satir and her focus on healthy models of inter-relationship. Thus, I am presenting “Integrating Wilber: A Therapist’s Reflection on the Integral Theory of Ken Wilber” by Dr. Steve Bentheim. It is meant to be an addition to his work and I welcome your feedback.

Insights

Our Insight section offers Virginia Verbatim: The Seed Model, Part I, transcribed by Moira E. Haagen from The Crested Butte, Colorado Process Community Videotape Series. This was one of Satir’s last talks, which describes her development of the “coping stances” used to illustrate the way people often relate with one another when stressed. Finally, we offer another of Satir’s meditations: Being in Charge of Self: A Series of Meditations from Virginia Satir compiled by Dr. Carolyn Nesbitt. We sincerely hope you enjoy this issue!

All the best,

Steve Bentheim, PH.D.,
Editor, The Satir Journal