Of all the therapeutic modalities in force today,
none shows greater promise for dramatic personal change
than the fast-growing field of family therapy. Yet no
discipline is more lacking in a unified theoretical
framework. Now, in this brilliant new work, Lynn
Hoffman, noted therapist and, with Jay Haley, author of
Techniques of Family Therapy (Basic Books, 1968)
provides the much-needed synthesis that weaves together
the diverse themes and concepts around which family
theory and therapy have evolved. Sweeping in its
coverage, solidly researched yet consistently lively and
readable, Foundations of Family Therapy is unique in the
way it successfully bridges the gap between the family
field and other social sciences. Starting with Gregory
Batesons seminal ideas on social fields, the book
examines key concepts that have come to family therapy
from general systems theory, notably the cybernetic
paradigm. The author looks closely at the early studies
of combination patterns in schizophrenic families and
then connects this research with related work on family
typology and on the whole range of emotional disorders.
The second part of the book explores the major schools
of family therapy and such figures as Minuchin, Bowen,
Whitaker, Haley, Erickson, and Ackerman, as well as the
revolutionary work of Selvini Palazzoli and her
associates in Milan. Bold in conception, beautifully
integrative, Foundations of Family Therapy conveys the
excitement of the growth of ideas, while at the same
time giving the reader a systematic and coherent
overview of family therapy as it is practiced today.
Both clinicians and researchers will recognize it as the
major synthesis of contemporary family therapy.
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