the therapist in their power struggles or in their
defenses against open communication.
A history and assessment process is a typical part
of family therapy. The presenting problem must be
stated and understood. It may be that a son is a
delinquent or a daughter is sexually promiscuous.
It is often interesting and diagnostically important
to see how different family members construe the
same problem in quite divergent ways. Usually, a
family history will be taken. This, too, can have
ramifications. When the family problem is placed
in the larger context of information about the par-
ents’origins and their early life and marriage, chil-
dren can often attain improved communication and
understanding. Laying out the entire panorama of
family history—its extended members and their
goals, aspirations, fears, and frailties—can lead to
deeper understanding, empathy, and tolerance.
This larger context can promote a shared frame of
reference that was not possible earlier. A child can
begin to learn what it meant for the mother to
relinquish her own aspirations in favor of the family
or what it meant for the father to experience abuse
from his own father. In the controlled setting of the
family therapy room, the parents may, at the same
time, remember (via the current experience of their
children) what it was like to encounter peer
pressure.Conjoint Family Therapy
Inconjoint family therapy, the entire family is seen at
the same time by one therapist. In some varieties of
this approach, the therapist plays a rather passive,
nondirective role. In other varieties, the therapist
is an active force, directing the conversation, assign-
ing tasks to various family members, imparting
direct instruction regarding human relations, and
so on.
Satir (1967a, 1967b) regarded the family thera-
pist as a resource person who observes the family
process in action and then becomes a model of
communication to the family through clear, crisp
communication. Thus, Satir viewed the therapist
as a teacher, a resource person, and a communica-
tor. Such a therapist illustrates to family members
how they can communicate better and thereby
bring about more satisfying relationships. The fol-
lowing excerpts from Satir (1967a) clarify the inter-
action process for a family.A Case Illustration of Conjoint Family TherapyTherapist:(to husband) I notice your brow is wrinkled,
Ralph. Does that mean you are angry at this
moment?
Husband:I did not know that my brow was wrinkled.
Therapist:Sometimes a person looks or sounds in a way
of which he is not aware. As far as you can tell,
what were you thinking and feeling just now?
Husband:I was thinking over what she [his wife] said.
Therapist:What thing that she said were you thinking
about?
Husband:When she said that when she was talking so
loud, she wished I would tell her.
Therapist:What were you thinking about that?
Husband:I never thought about telling her. I thought
she would get mad.
Therapist:Ah, then maybe that wrinkle meant you were
puzzled because your wife was hoping you would dosomething and you did not know she had this hope?
Do you suppose that by your wrinkled brow you
were signaling that you were puzzled?
Husband:Yeah, I guess so.
Therapist:As far as you know, have you ever been
in that same spot before, that is, where you
were puzzled by something Alice said or did?
Husband:Hell, yes, lots of times.
Therapist:Have you ever told Alice you were puzzled
when you were?
Wife:He never says anything.
Therapist:(smiling, to Alice) Just a minute, Alice, let me
hear what Ralph’s idea is of what he does. Ralph,
how do you think you have let Alice know when
you are puzzled?
Husband:I think she knows.
(Continued)GROUP THERAPY, FAMILY THERAPY, AND COUPLES THERAPY 445