Foundations of Family Therapy: A Conceptual Framework for Systems Change

By Lynn Hoffman

Book Overview

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 Bateson's 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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 046502498X
• ISBN13: 9780465024988
• Release Date: August 1981
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant synopsis

Lynn Hoffman is one of the leading thinkers and practitioners in the field of family therapy and systems theory. Her book is a gem even though some parts may be a bit hard to follow. This is not because she is unclear, but brilliant.

Family Therapy's Flag Ship Text

This book is a timeless classic written by the most prolific author in our field. Hoffman's poetic voice and earthy genius is the perfect guide to the myriad theories of therapy and change that inform our work with famlies. No social worker, psychologist, family therapist or other helping professional should consider his or her training complete until s/he has purchased a copy of this volume for their library (and read it). Educators who think they can train and prepare students without this text are short changing their pupils. Hoffman introduces readers to every major thinker and pioneer in the field. However, Hoffman provides more than a survey of the major players and schools of family therapy, she isolates the specific contribution each therapist has made to our thinking about therapy and locates it in the larger context of change. Reading about the evolution of family therapy with Hoffman (who bore witness to many of the developments she writes about) not only helps us better understand an important part of our own and our professions past, but helps us to understand why we think about families and family therapy the way we do today.--Jonathan Diamond, author of Narrative Means to Sober Ends: Treating Addiction and Its Aftermath; private practice Northampton and Greenfield MA.