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TOWARDS A GENERAL MODEL OF PSYCHOTIC FAMILY GAMES *
Author(s) -
Selvini Mara Palazzoli
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1986.tb00665.x
Subject(s) - stalemate , psychology , psychological intervention , family therapy , psychotherapist , process (computing) , developmental psychology , intervention (counseling) , psychiatry , computer science , political science , politics , law , operating system
The author presents the results of six years of clinical research on 114 families with psychotic children. The aim was to build up a general model of the interactional organization of these families, apparently so different from one another, which could successfully guide therapeutic interventions. For the moment the research has suggested that the psychotic breakdown of a child is theendpoint of a process in six stages. The description of the process begins with a specific couple's interaction, called “stalemate,“ in which the child, who will become psychotic, actively interferes in an effort to modify the situation. The failure of his/her attempts coincides, at the sixth stage, with his/her resorting to a psychotic behavior.