Metaphors of Family Systems Theory Toward New Constructions [Paperback]

This innovative book probes the language of family systems theory, demonstrating how metaphors shape our understanding both of families themselves and of the goals and process of therapy. The author shows how a deeper understanding of standard theoretical metaphors--and the development of alternatives--can help clinicians and students identify hidden assumptions, incorporate perspectives that may otherwise have been overlooked, and forge creative new meanings in clinical practice.

"As teachers, students, or professionals working with families, we owe an enormous debt to Paul Rosenblatt for the present work. This volume not only signals a major transformation in our understanding of families; it simultaneously transforms the very idea of what it is to understand." --From the Foreword by Kenneth J. Gergen

"Paul Rosenblatt'sMetaphors of Family Systems Theoryis a wonderful resource for teaching about the power of language to create particular forms of observing and theorizing about the family. For students who are grappling with the challenges of postmodern understandings of family systems, Rosenblatt's book shows with great clarity the political and ethical choices embedded in adopting particular metaphors for examining family life. His work is in many respects a practical illustration of what it means to embrace multiple discourses in constructing our `knowledge' and `understanding' of family. Students quickly see the practical implications of selecting a particular theory or metaphor. Their realization of these choices as situated choices based in relational realities greatly limits their ability to think about theory or practice as value-free and apolitical. Rosenblatt is to be commended for offering an important link between abstract discussions of postmodernism and what it all means, pragmatically, to students of family interchange. This book is an enthusiastically welcomed educational resource." --Sheila Mclƒ0