The Problem of the Referring Person*

Abstract

This paper is a preliminary contribution to the potentially insidious problem of the referring person in family therapy. In our experience, our failure to examine this problem according to the systemic epistemology was the root of several unsuccessful therapies. A description of those who, most often, are the referring persons to be suspected of having become homeostatic members of the family is given. We also present sketches of the behavior we most often observe in families which are maintaining a homeostatic bond with the referring person. Lastly, we explain and give examples of the tactics devised by our team to reveal and resolve this problem. 1