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Don D. Jackson Archive

The Don D. Jackson Archive is a collection of documents upon which much of the field of systemic marriage and family therapy and brief therapy are based.  The Archive contains thousands of original audio recordings, video recordings, and original paper documents including unpublished research materials from numerous completed research projects; collections of published writings by key members (Jackson, Bateson, Weakland, Fisch, Watzlawick, Satir, and Haley); hundreds of rare photographs; first edition books and original articles, and much more. Significant collections from other leading family theorists and therapists are also housed in the Jackson Archive, including Carl Whitaker, Gianfranco Cecchin, R. D. Laing, Heinz von Foerster, Bradford P. Keeney, Steve de Shazer, and others.

About the Archive

Students studying counseling, marriage and family therapy (MFT), social work, and other related fields benefit from accessing the Archive's documents. The Archive supports students' and others' efforts in preparing assignments, completing assignments, writing articles and books, and completing dissertations. Archive

Thus far, approximately 20 dissertations have been written based on materials in the Archive: 12 at ULM and additional dissertations by researchers at other universities including Harvard, Virginia Tech, Syracuse University, and Nova Southeastern, all of whom traveled to ULM to study materials preserved in the Archive.

The Archive was founded at the Mental Research Institute (MRI) by Dr. Wendel Ray in 1987. Since joining the ULM MFT faculty in January 1990, the Archive has been a joint research project of the ULM Marriage and Family Therapy and Systemic Studies Master's and Doctoral Programs. As a working archive, rare documents are constantly being preserved and duplicated in digital format and used as the basis for publishing and research. Acquisition of materials and expansion of the Archive's holdings as well as expenses incurred by operating the archive have been funded by donations and external funds. The founder expects the continued growth of the Archive will continue to be funded by donations and external funding sources.

In late 2017, the Archive began partnering with the ULM Library to enhance the Archive's discoverability and accessibility to researchers. The Statement of Purpose, Narrative Description, and General Inventory can be found here (though it should be noted that it is not currently up-to-date). A bibliography of Dr. Don J. Jackson's works can be accessed here.

Location

Strauss Hall #314
700 University Avenue
Monroe, LA 71209

Hours of Operation

The Archive is open year round and a varying times during the day based on ULM's academic schedule. Please check with the Dr. Ray for current hours of operation, (318) 342-1329 or (318) 342-1330.

Links of Interest

Introduction to Systems Theory

Don Jackson Archive Documentary with Spanish Subtitles

KEDM Jackson Archive Interview

Dr. Jackson on Marital Paradox

Family Systems #1:  Introduction

Family Systems #2:  Cybernetics

Honour & Advance Conference featuring Dr. Dorothy Becvar and Dr. Raphael Becvar (Nov. 30, 2017)


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