Jaber F. Gubrium 
Out of Control [PDF ebook] 
Family Therapy and Domestic Disorder

In a unique comparative ethnography of two family therapy programs, Gubrium deftly shows how differing organizational perceptions make visible the social construction of domestic disorder. Contrasting images of home life–one viewing domestic order as a system of authority, the other as a configuration of emotional bonds–serve to highlight different senses of the family as being out of control and to recommend alternate forms of intervention. The idea that the reality of home life and domestic troubles are embedded in organizational activities and institutional images is an important commentary on the understanding of domestic life and the postmodern family. Out of Control provides stimulating reading for professionals and students in clinical psychology, family therapy, family studies, sociology, and qualitative methods.

Table of Content

PART ONE: THEMES AND SETTINGS

The Troubled Home

The Settings

PART TWO: WESTSIDE HOUSE

Discerning Domestic Authority

Constructing the System

Restoring Hierarchy

PART THREE: FAIRVIEW HOSPITAL

Domestic Sentiments and Control

The Rationalization of Feelings

Facilitating Expression

PART FOUR: THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF DOMESTIC DISORDER

Voice and Method

Language and Domestic Reality

About the author

Jaber F. Gubrium is professor and chair of sociology at the University of Missouri. He has an extensive record of research on the social organization of care in human service institutions. His publications include numerous books and articles on aging, family, the life course, medicalization, and representational practice in therapeutic context.