The Development and Evolution of Family Therapy Research: Its Impact on Practice, Current Status, and Future Directions

Science has always been a central part of family therapy. Research by early pioneers focused on studying the efficacy of both couple and family interventions from a systemic perspective. Today we know more now than ever before about the processes of diverse families and the therapeutic outcomes of family therapy practices. Despite the acknowledged importance of family therapy research, there are still questions about its impact on “real life” practice. Despite all the flaws of each, research and practice are critical interacting elements of a dialectic relationship: High‐quality practice combines reliable scientific knowledge with individual clinical judgment made by family therapists in the context of their dynamic transactions with a family or couple. Future research can help uncover the mechanisms we have yet to know and test the ones we have identified while the dynamic interaction of research and practice that can lead to further innovations and developments central to the future of family therapy.