Build family ties, says Pipher

Families aren?t perfect, but often, they are all we have, believes Mary Pipher, PhD. As a result, psychologists and families themselves should focus on building stronger family ties, she said during her keynote speech at APA?s 1998 Annual Convention in San Francisco.

Author of the best-selling books 'Reviving Ophelia' and 'The Shelter of Each Other: Rebuilding Our Families,' Pipher pointed out that parents aren?t what cause families to break down. Rather, outside and cultural forces do.

Pipher believes that psychologists can help families make appropriate choices in an era where they are barraged by questionable influences from the media.

Pipher?s next book, 'Another Country: The Emerging Terrain of Our Elders,' is due out next spring. It is investigating the family issues that elderly people face in a modern society that devalues cross-generational bonding.