“Although the title might suggest a relatively narrow target audience of family therapists, I feel certain that the fascinating ideas addressed here, coupled with the accessible style, would also speak to the experienced therapist, the trainee and the lay reader alike. By focusing on what is actually said in spousal, sibling and parental relationships, the authors invite the reader to reflect on the powerful and often destructive myths, narratives, schemas – call them what you will – that underpin family systems.” (Therapy Today, 1 September 2012)
Each family has unique communication habits, yet beneath surface differences common communication patterns arise. Many patterns are healthy, promoting communication that is honest, authentic and tactful. Sometimes, however, habitual responses can develop: ‘myths’ that become entrenched in the language of an individual family. These Family Defence Mechanisms (FDMs) block healthy communication, instead raising barriers and creating distance. With time pressures at an all-time high and family members spending less time interacting with each other than ever, snippets of homespun wisdom–“it’s better not to talk about it;” “better the devil you know”– become dangerously easy to present as fact.
Combining humanist and existentialist perspectives in a new understanding of family dynamics, Destructive Myths in Family Therapy exposes a range of common FDMs, exploring how they can become ingrained negative part of family culture and suggesting strategies for overcoming them. The healthy strategies and group activities in Destructive Myths in Family Therapy engage families in better interaction, helping therapists be better equipped to help clients ‘see’ the barriers they unconsciously place in the way of change, ‘say’ things that facilitate resolution rather than resistance, and establish authentic, direct communication within their family unit.
From the Back Cover
Each family has unique communication habits, yet beneath surface differences common communication patterns arise. Many patterns are healthy, promoting communication that is honest, authentic and tactful. Sometimes, however, habitual responses can develop: ‘myths’ that become entrenched in the language of an individual family. These Family Defence Mechanisms (FDMs) block healthy communication, instead raising barriers and creating distance. With time pressures at an all-time high and family members spending less time interacting with each other than ever, snippets of homespun wisdom–“it’s better not to talk about it;” “better the devil you know”– become dangerously easy to present as fact.
Combining humanist and existentialist perspectives in a new understanding of family dynamics, Destructive Myths in Family Therapy exposes a range of common FDMs, exploring how they can become ingrained negative part of family culture and suggesting strategies for overcoming them. The healthy strategies and group activities in Destructive Myths in Family Therapy engage families in better interaction, helping therapists be better equipped to help clients ‘see’ the barriers they unconsciously place in the way of change, ‘say’ things that facilitate resolution rather than resistance, and establish authentic, direct communication within their family unit.
About the Author
Daniela Kramer-Moore is currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, University of Warwick. A family therapist with many years’ experience of working with high risk adolescents and their families, she now heads the post-graduate Psychotherapy Centre at Oranim Academic College, Kiryat Tiv’on, Israel, where she previously led the Masters program in Educational Counselling.
Michael Moore is currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, University of Warwick. He is a social psychologist with many scholarly publications in the field, and was until recently Head of the Department of Education in Technology and Science at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
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