The Problem of the Referring Person*

Abstract

This paper is a preliminary contribution to the potentially insidious problem of the referring person in family therapy. I n (yur experience, our failure to examine this problem according to the systemic epistemology was the root of several unsuccessful therapies. A description of those who, most often, are the referring persons to be suspected of hawing become homeostatic members of the family i s given. We also present sketches of the behavior we most often observe in families which are maintaining a homeostatic bond with the referring person. Lastly, we explain and give exumples of the tactics &wised by our team to reveal and resolve this problem.' *Translated from Italian

The madman theory of war: a possible application in therapy

“…The family seemed genuinely missing from Mrs N.'s social contacts, there were not even peripheral contacts such as Christmas cards or messages through third parties. The value of including the referring doctor in a systemic hypothesis has been reported elsewhere in the family therapy literature (Palazzoli et al, 1980, Walker 1981 as has the use of a systemic approach to the agency system without the inclusion of the family (Dimmock and Dungworth, 1983). In the present case professional carers appeared not only to be important but to have supplanted the patient's original family and it seemed appropriate to use the health care system as the focus of therapy.…”

“…The Milan group (Palazzoli, 1978), use the term 'behaviour-power' to characterize 'superior' and 'inferior' positions in a dyad. In their view, '.…”

Refugee families in therapy: from referrals to therapeutic conversations

“…This system usually forms the referring system, defining the refugees' problems and their need for therapeutic assistance. Clarifying the ideas and solutions of the referring system as well as their relations to the families are essential steps in all family therapy work (Boscolo et al, 1987;Imber-Black, 1988;Palazzoli et al, 1980), but it attains a special significance when approaching refugee families referred for therapy (Sveaass and Reichelt, 2001). The therapeutic context is necessarily transcultural and the families have often been exposed to gross human rights violations.…”

Family therapy without the family: a framework for systemic practice

“…However, some critics have argued that many family therapists, including for example Palazzoli (Palazzoli et al, 1978), have not only lost the individual, but behave as though individuals were parts of a mechanistic process, the power being located in the rules of the system. Nichols (1987) argues strongly against this tendency.…”