A comprehensive, user-friendly guide to marriage and family therapy that takes a holistic view to look at people within the context of their environment. This book helps students understand the process of shifting from an individual psychology paradigm to a cybernetic or systems paradigm. The text is divided into three sections: The Systemic Framework, The Practice of Family Therapy, and The Systemic Practitioner, and it includes historical information, current developments, and ongoing debates. Various family and developmental theories are examined. The family therapy models considered include psychodynamic, natural systems, experiential, structural, communications, strategic, behavioral/cognitive, and several post-modern approaches. Assessment, intervention, training and supervision, research, and epistemological challenges are discussed within the context of practice.

Two different worldviews -- The historical perspective -- The paradigmatic shift of systems theory -- Postmodernism and family therapy -- The family : process, development, and context -- Psychodynamic approaches -- Natural systems theory -- Experiential approaches -- The structural approach -- Communication approaches -- Strategic approaches and the Milan influence -- Behavioral/cognitive approaches -- Postmodern approaches -- Family assessment -- Therapeutic intervention/perturbation -- Training and supervision -- Research in family therapy -- Epistemological challenges : thinking about our thinking.