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A Piagetian View of Family Therapy: Selvini‐Palazzoli and the Invariant Approach
Author(s) -
GELCER ESTHER,
SCHWARTZBEIN DAVID
Publication year - 1989
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.1545-5300.1989.00439.x
Subject(s) - family therapy , psychology , invariant (physics) , piaget's theory of cognitive development , cognition , cognitive development , developmental psychology , cognitive science , cognitive psychology , psychotherapist , mathematics , neuroscience , mathematical physics
The Invariant Approach of Mara Selvini‐Palazzoli is a new development in the Milan approach to family therapy. In order to distinguish and explain it, an overview of the Invariant Approach is given. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development is used to provide a framework for explaining how Selvini‐Palazzo‐li's therapy alters the family's epistemology and facilitates change in the “family game.” It is suggested that family members in therapy tend to think about their problems in a style that resembles Piaget ‘s preoperational period. The process of therapy can be seen as geared to facilitate a shift from a preoperational to an operational style of cognitive functioning. This shift gives family members access to more adaptive ways of thinking about their problem‐solving strategies.