By means of a series of personal anecdotes, protocols, fables, and plays, the eminent family therapist probes and assesses the role of the individual within the family and the social, political, and legal contexts of the family.

pt. 1. Patterns in transition. Kaleidoscope : fragments -- Trio : patterns of divorce -- Quartet : patterns of remarriage / written with Virginia Goldner -- The key : fragmentation of a commune -- An anorectic family : repatterning through therapy -- pt. 2. Patterns of violence. Family dismemberment : a day in court -- Child murder -- Parent murder -- An alternative : violence and healing -- pt. 3. Patterns in context. The triumph of Ellen West : an ecological perspective.