Carmen Knudson-Martin’s research while affiliated with Lewis & Clark College and other places

... People who are forced to leave their homes due to armed conflicts, political persecution, discrimination, extreme poverty, or natural disasters are at a higher risk of overall health problems, including mental health ones (e.g., Bemak & Chung, 2017). Families of immigrants from countries with prolonged or multiple disruptions of the social order, such as war, oppressive political power, and abrupt shifts in political and economic structures frequently experience both the immediate and transgenerational effects of sociocultural traumas of their homeland after moving to the new land (Glebova & Knudson-Martin, 2023b). ...

Reference:

Relational ethics in immigrant families: The contextual therapy five-dimensional framework

... These emotions may stem from unmet expectations, a sense of failure, and the perception of being a burden to family or society (Duus-Otterström, 2017). Reintegration can be particularly difficult when compounded by socio-relational issues, including negative reactions from family or community members, who may view the return as a failure (McDowell et al., 2022;Harlan et al., 2020). ...

Reference:

My Money is My Blood, Do Not Waste It: A Critical Analysis of the Return and Reintegration Experiences of Ugandan Migrant Domestic Workers from Saudi Arabia

... Para comenzar, Haraway (1991) nos narra con gran acierto que los textos científicos son tecnologías básicamente, y así las metaforiza, son prótesis de una subjetividad particular, la de los hombres investigadores o científicos (a veces, las únicas disponibles en la academia occidental) que producen imaginarios y ficciones en las comunidades lectoras que ostentan una serie de políticas ocultas en grupos estudiantiles oprimidos por las instituciones educativas. Estas prótesis buscan reproducir un discurso metafísico, es decir, totalizador, hegemónico y relativista (que sus principios y valores deben de ser respetados pese a los anacronismos cometidos) con el objetivo de lograr isomorfismos en el quehacer científico (Bertalanffy, 1947;McDowell, Kudson-Martin, Bermudez, 2019). Busca que el tecnocientífico llamado terapeuta familiar use la base teórica científica (la teoría general de los sistemas, cibernética y teoría de la comunicación humana ) para el análisis de la vida de la familia (Ochoa, 2004) como una regla en antonomasia para el educando de la terapia sistémica . ...

Reference:

La Terapia Familiar Sistémica y el Pensamiento de Tercer orden Teoría crítica y política con perspectivas de género, multiculturalidad e interseccionalidad

... There are CFT scholar practitioners who have consistently advocated for more attention to the contexts of oppression beyond the walls of therapy. In recent years, scholars have urged CFTs to work to promote human dignity and be willing to challenge oppressive structures that uphold injustice and to focus more on infusing social justice into their therapy rooms (Dadras and Daneshpour 2018;Morrison et al. 2022;Parker and McDowell 2017;Watson 2019). In fact, CFT scholars have discussed effective ways to promote social justice in CFT training programs for decades (McDowell and Shelton 2002;McGeorge 2010;McGeorge et al. 2006;McGoldrick et al. 1999). ...

Reference:

“As Therapists, We Get to Be Quietly Subversive”: A Qualitative Exploration of CFTs' Social Justice Practices

... Corroborating a relational understanding, early solo and joint sessions should stimulate each partner's reflections on their contribution to the relational pattern and establish directions for individual change. Partners' willingness to take responsibility for their part in their relationship issues may be foundational to interrupting blaming cycles (Patrika and Tseliou, 2016;Smoliak et al., 2021) and implementing the therapist's suggestions (Davis and Piercy, 2007). Additionally, focusing on individual change empowers the partners to contribute positively to change in their relationship, benefitting each partner's sense of competence and autonomy (Halford, 2003;Knee et al., 2013) while also ensuring accountability (Fishbane, 2023). ...

Reference:

A research-driven flowchart to approach change in couples

... However, multiple systemic approaches view self-regulation and agency as key elements of empathy, cooperation, and mutual understanding. For example, differentiation, defined as the ability to separate self from others, empowers individuals to make choices that are consistent with their personal and relational values while it legitimates and validates self and other experiences (Fishbane and Wells, 2015;McDowell et al., 2019;Knudson-Martin et al., 2021;see Rodríguez-González et al., 2020 for cross-cultural considerations). Quantitative research has highlighted the importance of perceived agency in fundamental relational processes such as accommodation (e.g., Kluwer et al., 2020), balancing personal and relational concerns (e.g., Visserman et al., 2017), and relational altruism (e.g., Gordon and Chen, 2013). ...

Reference:

A research-driven flowchart to approach change in couples

... Second, while more empirical studies are needed, advancing systemic treatment of anger lies less in the development of new approaches or skills and more in honoring our roots in systems theory by advocating a systems-oriented conceptualization and treatment of anger (Bertalanffy 1969;Knudson et al. 2020;Robins and Novaco 1999). A systemic orientation rejects mainstream psychotherapy's default bias of defining anger as an intrapersonal issue and instead emphasizes the role of culture and larger systemic factors in individual functioning. ...

Reference:

Reconsider the Anger of Marginalized Communities

... This type of change requires individuals or systems to transcend their existing structures and mental models, leading to a new level of understanding and operation (Witkin, 2017). In the context of social work or therapy, third-order change is an approach that not only considers the immediate and systemic issues but also reexamines and redefines the foundational principles and assumptions of the practice itself (McDowell et al., 2022). Such change emphasizes the need to address root causes and underlying structures rather than just symptoms or superficial aspects of problems (Bartunek & Moch, 1994;Witkin, 2017). ...

Reference:

Toward a Theory of Resistance for an Emancipatory Social Work

... Even within cultures, motherhood expectations may differ across geographical spheres or political spectra (Huang et al., 2016). Pressures to adhere to some form of culturally prescribed motherhood roles and beliefs appear universal, although more highly educated white women tend to have more anxiety about adherence (Henderson et al., 2016;Knudson-Martin & Silverstein, 2009). Despite cultural variations, the appearance of mothering competency and the ability to properly care for a child (Thomason et al., 2015) play a significant role in a mother's self-worth and perceptions of efficacy and are constant across diverse cultural populations (Henderson et al., 2016). ...

Reference:

Measuring Becoming a Mother: A Scoping Review of Existing Measures of Matrescence

... Certain roles may become more salient as commitment increases, especially the role of being a mother (Katz-Wise, Priess, & Hyde, 2010). In looking at a woman's sense of identity, motherhood has greater salience and is more central to her identity than other roles, and this salience only strengthens the more time she spends in childcare responsibilities (Cowdery, Knudson-Martin, & Mahoney, 2009;Katz-Wise et al., 2010;Medina & Magnuson, 2009). For stay-at-home mothers, then, this role may become so dominant that when mothering responsibilities shift (e.g., when children become more involved in school and away from the family), there is a need to redefine their identity. ...

Reference:

Can We Talk About Stay-At-Home Moms? Empirical Findings and Implications for Counseling