We Believe

Following are some of the tenants of what we believe . . .

1. We advocate for children, families, and the poor. 

2. We argue against institutionalization of our clients and believe in keeping children with their families or in a family-style placement whenever possible. 

3. We believe in responsibility: Of parents for their children; of therapists for their clients; of supervisors for their supervisees. 

4. We work to end violence and abuse. 

5. We stand against neutrality, advocating for what is right and opposing what is wrong. 

6. We argue against circularity, recognizing that not every family member contributes equally to every problem. 

7. We disavow constructivism and appreciate an objective reality, which exists apart from perception. 

8. We believe in client-focused interventions with no generic technique generalizing to all clients and every situation. 

9. We believe in directive therapy in which the therapist takes active responsibility for changing clients. 

10. We advocate for a consistent quality of and access to treatment for both wealthy and poor clients. 

11. We engender in our clients a sense of optimism and hopefulness. 

12. We believe in the basic competence of people.