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Co‐evolving with Anorectic Families Difference is a Singular Moment
Author(s) -
Gibney Paul
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1467-8438
pISSN - 0814-723X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1467-8438.1987.tb01205.x
Subject(s) - family therapy , context (archaeology) , perspective (graphical) , anorexia nervosa , psychology , epistemology , process (computing) , dissipative system , psychotherapist , sociology , psychoanalysis , eating disorders , computer science , philosophy , artificial intelligence , psychiatry , physics , paleontology , biology , operating system , quantum mechanics
An individual practitioner's development as a family therapist occurs in the context of the family therapy movement, most manifestly present in its literature and in seminars and workshops offered by its leading exponents. The process by which the therapist interacts with the broader field and consequently incurs shifts in perspective is rarely decribed, or theoretically elucidated. In this current paper, the author's changing orientation to the treatment of anorexia nervosa is viewed via theoretical discussions and case illustrations. The concept of co‐evolution, as defined by both Bateson and Jantsch, is invoked to explain how interaction with other practitioners and literature can produce changes in therapeutic emphasis, and Prigogine's concepts of dissipative structures and bifurcation points are utilised in locating both therapeutic and theoretical shifts in time. The discussion briefly considers how therapists can co‐evolve with conservative work situations to produce broader contextual changes.