Beyond the family system

Abstract

This paper comes from a workshop we ran at the 1980 A.F.T. Annual Conference at Bangor. It looks at the wider context of family therapy and the systemic view and attempts to open up areas for further investigation.

The Ecological Perspective Revisited*

“…(Blackwell and Wilkins;1981. ) This would be a most welcome change from some of the more 'instant cure' trends within family therapy at the present time.…”

“…Taking the ecological metaphor more seriously in family therapy practice could, I believe, lead to a more cautious and modest diagnostic procedure. (Blackwell and Wilkins; This would be a most welcome change from some of the more 'instant cure' trends within family therapy at the present time. As Aponte (1979) has written:…”

‘Why should we talk to you? You'll only tell the Court!’ On being an informer and a family therapist

“…A similar technique consists of an interview of the whole network plus family in an attempt to de-emphasize the family's client role. Such a meeting can reveal that it may be an agency, not the family, who want change, in order to solve their own problems (Speck and Attneave, 1972;Aponte, 1976;Blackwell and Wilkins, 1981;Dimmock and Dungworth, 1985).…”

Disorganized families and the helping professions: ‘who's in charge of what?’

“…Various systemic linkages have received attention in the literature. Speck and Rueveni (1969) focus on family-extended family, Attneave (1976) on family-socialnetwork, Hansell(1967), Hoffman and Long( 1969) and Blackwell and Wilkins (1981) on family-social agency, and Scott (1973) on family-hospital. Skynner (1971) defines the 'minimum sufficient network' involved in a case, while Roberts (1979) describes liaison work with the family'sprofessional network.…”