Abstract:The use of systemic models in family therapy obliged our team to devise therapeutic tasks involving the entire family. Among these, one was found to be extremely effective: the prescribing of a family ritual. This article gives details of on such example aimed at the destruction of a myth that had been created by three generations of a family. In order that the reader may have a adequate understanding of this ritual, were shall fully describe the story of the family and of the transgenerational evolution of th… Show more
“…The aim of each session is to create a context in which conversations can take place which explore significant relationships and introduce or trigger new information, ideas and beliefs. Systemic rituals (Palazzoli et al 1977(Palazzoli et al , 1978 have been a common feature of our end of session messages for some considerable time. These often involve the introduction of experimental behaviours or beliefs to be performed by the family members outside the sessions.…”
Section: Context Of Case Studymentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In this way we are struck by the therapist's subtlety in designing a collective ritual toward a collective end with a theme relevant to each of the individuals' distinct needs. As Palazzoli writes: ' Every ritual becomes valid because of its normative function which is inherent in every collective action when the behaviour of all participants is directed towards the same goal' ( Palazzoli et al 1977). The process of the ritual laid bare Jane's vulnerability and her losses; by what process and in what contexts can she now begin to express and address them?…”
Section: Commentary By a Pragmatic/eclectic Family Therapist Team Usimentioning
“…The aim of each session is to create a context in which conversations can take place which explore significant relationships and introduce or trigger new information, ideas and beliefs. Systemic rituals (Palazzoli et al 1977(Palazzoli et al , 1978 have been a common feature of our end of session messages for some considerable time. These often involve the introduction of experimental behaviours or beliefs to be performed by the family members outside the sessions.…”
Section: Context Of Case Studymentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In this way we are struck by the therapist's subtlety in designing a collective ritual toward a collective end with a theme relevant to each of the individuals' distinct needs. As Palazzoli writes: ' Every ritual becomes valid because of its normative function which is inherent in every collective action when the behaviour of all participants is directed towards the same goal' ( Palazzoli et al 1977). The process of the ritual laid bare Jane's vulnerability and her losses; by what process and in what contexts can she now begin to express and address them?…”
Section: Commentary By a Pragmatic/eclectic Family Therapist Team Usimentioning
“…In both, it is striking the extent to which single or only a few successfully treated cases are reported t o justify the widespread application of a technique or a theory leading to a false sense of certitude. Examples abound such as Madanes' (1980) charming paper on play, Palazzoli et al's (1977) paper on family rituals, and Grunebaum, Weiss, Hirsch & Barrett (1963) paper on the baby on the ward. The problem inherent in this practice is that the specific indications for the technique or the difficulties inherent in it are not discussed.…”
Section: On the Influence Of Teaching Conferences And Literature In Fmentioning
This paper deals with the knowledge and thinking of the therapist, who is the link between theory and therapy. Based on the self‐analysis of a single family consultation interview, the various theories employed and the decision points are described. It is suggested that therapists can espouse many theories or single ones, but are always confronted with difficult decisions. Some features of the field of family therapy which foster an overevaluation of science and certitude are discussed.
“…Families transmit ritual themes or scripts from generation to generation (Palazzoli et al, 1977) and have ways of knowing about past and current events while not knowing clearly how this is so (Byng-Hall, 1973). Family members are often unclear about how they themselves fit into the overall picture, and what that family picture really is.…”
Three techniques, sculpting, geneograms, and family drawing are considered within a systemic approach to therapy. Frequently, emphasis is laid on either the activity of the therapist or the behaviour of the family in treatment. We focus on ways in which the therapist draws on the clients' creativity, relying for this on a correct assessment of their ‘language’ or ‘idiom’. Certain assumptions are proposed, and case illustrations are used in their support. Our approach is that any material, or apparently no material, produced when using these techniques represents essential information which can be turned to therapeutic advantage by means of positive reframing. Although a framework within which to practise is viewed as essential, a ‘game‐plan’ will almost certainly result in sterility and impasses in therapy. Therapist flexibility, it is proposed, is a prerequisite for creativity. We prefer to label resistance to treatment as failure by the therapist to recognize the clients' needs.
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