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On Second‐Order Family Therapy
Author(s) -
GOLANN STUART
Publication year - 1988
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.1545-5300.1988.00051.x
Subject(s) - family therapy , order (exchange) , position (finance) , psychology , power (physics) , psychotherapist , business , physics , finance , quantum mechanics
If family therapists remain aware of the indivisible and recursive nature of their interactions with families, and if they use this awareness to form a collaborative rather than a hierarchical therapeutic system, and at the same time minimize their attempts to change persons or family structures in strategic or predetermined ways, then they may be said to be practicing a “second‐order” family therapy. This article analyzes the development of the second‐order position on therapist power and influence, concluding that it is inconsistent and possibly disingenuous.