Systemic Therapy in Incarcerated Settings: Clinical Treatment and Applications for Marriage and Family Therapists

This book offers both theoretical rationale and practical applications for mental health professionals who seek to implement systemic therapy in correctional contexts.

Delving into the intricacies of systemic therapy and its transformative power in the lives of those affected by the criminal justice system, this book explores how family systems theory and systemic treatment can be utilized with incarcerated individuals and their families. Eman Tadros and expert contributing authors examine the pervasive structural inequalities within correctional settings and offer clinical guidance for working with a range of individuals and unique relationship dynamics, all while considering how to minimize disruption to the individual and their family during the transition from imprisonment to post‑release. Chapters explore various treatment modalities within correctional settings including different dimensions of couple and family therapy such as parent‑child relationships, reunification, ethics, intimacy, and more. Special considerations are given to working with LGBTQ+ incarcerated individuals and families as well as those from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. This book concludes with a call to action and outlines future research directions, encouraging training for therapists and support for justice‑impacted families.

This is an essential resource for those who work with incarcerated individuals and their families, such as marriage and family therapists, psychologists, counselors, and clinical social workers, as well as students and researchers interested in family theory and the criminal justice system’s impacts on wellbeing.

Eman Tadros, PhD, is an advanced Assistant Professor at Syracuse University in the Human Development and Family Science Department. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist, MBTI certified, an AAMFT approved supervisor, and a Family TEAM leader. She was the former Assistant Editor for the journal Child: Care, Health and Development. Her research focuses on incarcerated couples and families as well as dating and romantic relationships. She has published 169 peer‑reviewed journal articles and various magazines, blog posts, book chapters, op‑eds, and policy briefs.