Introduction

What does it mean to be an integrative systemic therapist? This week on the podcast we’re sitting down with Douglas C. Breunlin and William P. Russell. Doug Breunlin has practiced individual, couple and family therapy. He has served as a consultant for Cook County Hospital's Departments of Pediatrics and Family Practice for 12 years, in addition to providing consultation to mental health centers, special education programs and residential facilities, and is co-author of Metaframeworks: Transcending the Models of Family Therapy. Bill Russel has practiced systemic psychotherapy, developed and administered mental health service programs, and trained and supervised therapists. He has worked in academic institutions, community agencies, a private practice, a therapeutic school and the Veterans Administration. For the past twenty-six years Mr. Russell has worked at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. Bill and David chat with Eli about the meaning of integrative systemic therapy, their early work and career influences, the importance of introducing the client to the model rather than the other way around, their work at institutions such as the Institute for Juvenile Research and The Family Institute at University of South Wales, and more.