Families and Mental Retardation

Traditional pathology models do not provide a satisfactory framework for professional practice with families of people with mental retardation. Families and Mental Retardation is written from the perspective of a competence paradigm for professional practice, which offers a constructive alternative to the more prevalent pathology models of the past. The goal of professional practice is to empower families in coping with the catastrophic stressor of mental retardation. Such an approach recognizes the strengths and resources of families, which have often been minimized in the past, and fosters new collaborative modes of family-professional relationships.

Unique features include a consideration of life-span and family system and subsystem perspectives, as well as the inclusion of powerful personal accounts of family members. The volume is likely to be of special value to mental health and health care professionals, who often receive little training in mental retardation or family-professional relations, and who tend to apply a pathology model. In contrast, a competence paradigm is more prevalent in education.

DIANE T. MARSH is Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. She is also a Licensed Psychologist with many years of experience as a psychotherapist and clinical consultant, and currently specializes in professional practice with families who have a member with a disability. She is the author of Families and Mental Illness: New Directions in Professional Practice (Praeger, 1992).