Clinical Psychology

therapy, and on and on. Theoretical approaches range
from the systemic, to the psychodynamic, to the
behavioral, and on to those that purport to integrate
various theoretical practices.

The Goals. Most family therapists share the pri-
mary goal of improving communication within the
family and deemphasize the problems of the indi-
vidual in favor of treating the problems of the fam-
ily as a whole. However, once we get beyond such
general statements, there seems to be some disarray
of purposes and goals. For example, many therapists

who talk about the family system still seem to view

family therapy as a kind of context in which to

solve an individual’s problems. Seeing the family

together becomes a technique (perhaps a more effi-

cient one) for inducing changes in the individual

patient. Other family therapists are devoted to the

philosophy that regarding the family as a unit and

working with it as such will enhance that unit.

Although this may benefit the individual members,

the real focus is on the family. As in most enter-

prises, the largest number of family therapists falls

somewhere between the two extremes.

BOX15-2 Clinical Psychologist Perspective: Greta Francis, Ph.D., ABPP

Dr. Greta Francis received her B.S. in psychology from

the University of Pittsburgh in 1982 and completed her

M.S. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Virginia Tech in

1987. She returned to the University of Pittsburgh
      School of Medicine for her predoctoral internship at
      Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and then stayed
      on to do a National Research Service Award postdoc-
      toral fellowship. Upon completion of her fellowship in
      1988, Dr. Francis moved to Rhode Island for a faculty
      position at Brown in the department of psychiatry and
      human behavior and a job as a staff psychologist on
      the adolescent inpatient unit at Bradley Hospital. She
      assumed the role of coordinator for training in clinical
      child psychology for the internship program shortly
      after arriving at Brown. In 1989, Dr. Francis was pro-
      moted to assistant chief of services for the adolescent
      unit. After four years on the inpatient unit, she
      accepted a position in a school-funded day treatment
      program on the Bradley campus and moved into the
      role of clinical director of that program. Dr. Francis was
      promoted to associate professor in 1997, and, in 2003,
      became an associate director for the clinical psychology
      training consortium. In 2008, Dr. Francis was board
      certified in clinical child and adolescent psychology.
      We asked Dr. Francis a few questions about her
      background, her interests and expertise, and her pre-
      dictions for the future of clinical psychology and family
      therapy.

What originally got you interested in the

field of clinical psychology?

As the daughter of a nurse and a psychiatrist, I had an

interest in some sort of helping profession since

childhood. While an undergraduate at Pitt, I became

fascinated (briefly) with biological psychology after

taking classes from an amazing teacher, Dr. Frank

Colavita. His ability to engage students in the subject

matter was remarkable, but I eventually realized that I

was more interested in clinical work than laboratory

work. I had the opportunity to be a research assistant

in two different clinical labs at Pitt. One was an adult

social skills lab in the department of psychology and

the other was a child psychopathology lab in the

medical school. I learned a lot from both but definitely

was drawn more to working with kids. When I went to

graduate school, I was incredibly fortunate to end up

in the lab of my mentor, Dr. Thomas Ollendick. Dr.

Ollendick is a child clinical psychologist, so that is

where I first learned what it meant to be a child clinical

psychologist. My training incorporated developmental

psychopathology within a cognitive-behavioral frame-

work. At that time, I was absolutely certain that I

wanted to return to a graduate program in clinical

psychology to start my career when my training was

done. Certain, yes, until I went to a medical school for

my internship. I then became absolutely certain that I

wanted to work in a medical school. Right now, I‘m

seeming kind of flighty, huh? Some might say flighty,

while others might say that I was relying on experien-

tial learning to guide my decision making.

Describe what activities you are involved in

as a clinical psychologist.

When I left graduate school, I knew I wanted to stay

involved with“faculty stuff”but it never occurred to

me that I would end up on the faculty at Brown

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