Emerging Concerns in Family Therapy

Abstract

According to the author, a major flaw in most family therapies is their overemphasis on interpersonal familial process, with insufficient attention to the role of genuine deficit in the so-called identified patient and to the influence of external forces generating conflicts. The author reviews literature that highlights the limitations inherent in the theory and practice of family therapy and suggests that practitioners use systems-oriented selection criteria to help direct their choice of treatment.