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“Enmeshment” and the Too Richly Cross‐Joined System
Author(s) -
HOFFMAN LYNN
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
family process
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.011
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1545-5300
pISSN - 0014-7370
DOI - 10.1111/j.1545-5300.1975.00457.x
Subject(s) - joins , connection (principal bundle) , blocking (statistics) , psychology , cognitive science , epistemology , communication , social psychology , computer science , philosophy , engineering , computer network , structural engineering , programming language
This paper traces out a connection between Minuchin's concept of an “enmeshed” family and Ashby's discussion of the problems inherent in a system in which all the parts are tightly interlocked. Adaptiveness to change in such a system will depend on the possibility for the joins between parts to become temporarily inactive. This observation supports maneuvers in family therapy that emphasize the creation of boundaries between subsystems, differentiating individuals from one another, and blocking customary sequences of interaction.