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Potential Perils of the Demonstration‐Consultation Interview in Family Therapy: A Case Study of Contextual Confusion
Author(s) -
HARARI EDWIN,
BLOCH SIDNEY
Publication year - 1991
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.1545-5300.1991.00363.x
Subject(s) - confusion , psychology , family therapy , psychotherapist , psychoanalysis
This article focuses on a specific aspect of consultation in contemporary family therapy, namely, problems that arise in the context of a consultation that simultaneously serves as a demonstration of a particular model of therapy. The demonstration‐consultation interview is used widely in family therapy, but has received little attention in the literature. We use a case example of the apparent persistent deterioration in the clinical state of a patient following such a family interview with a visiting expert, and examine the possible contribution to the patient's deterioration that the demonstration‐consultation context creates for the various participants. We offer provisional guidelines to minimize the risk of negative effects of the demonstration‐consultation interview, pending empirical research into this phenomenon.