Psychology Revivals Psychotherapy with Families Originally published in 1981, this study is the outcome of a clinical work- shop based in the Adolescent Department at the Tavistock Clinic; its mem- bers at the time shared a tradition and interest in applying psychoanalytic principles to the understanding of groups and institutions and believed in the crucial relevance of these in work with families. It is written with the general reader in mind as well as those who work specifically in the field of family therapy or psychoanalysis. The approach is based on two particular developments; that of Object Rela- tions Psychoanalytic practice, derived especially from the work of Freud and Melanie Klein; and the application of this to the understanding of Group Relations following the work of W.R. Bion and others, such as A.K. Rice and Pierre Turquet. It thus embraces the idea of the family as a system and includes attempts to understand the processes involved in such a system. But, unlike other comparable approaches, this one implies working with the group dynamics of the family, especially in terms of the way the family members perceive and engage the therapists. The attempt is to create a space for the family to relive and think about conflicts as they emerge in the therapeutic setting. Analytic theory is matched by much clinical material, and a glossary defines the key concepts. Page Intentionally Left Blank Psychotherapy with Families An analytic approach Edited by Sally Box, Beta Copley, Jeanne Magagna and Errica Moustaki Firstpublishedin1981 byRoutledge&KeganPaul Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2015byRoutledge 27ChurchRoad,HoveBN32FA andbyRoutledge 711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness ©1981SallyBox TherightofSallyBoxtobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeenassertedbyherin accordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988. All rightsreserved.No part ofthis bookmaybe reprintedor reproducedor utilisedin any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers. Publisher’sNote Thepublisherhasgonetogreatlengthstoensurethequalityofthisreprintbutpoints outthatsomeimperfectionsintheoriginalcopiesmaybeapparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondencefromthosetheyhavebeenunabletocontact. ALibraryofCongressrecordexistsunderISBN:0710008546 ISBN:978-1-138-88788-6(hbk) ISBN:978-1-315-71384-7(ebk) PSYCHOTHERAPY WITH FAMILIES An analytic approach Sally Box, Beta Copley, Jeanne Magagna and Errica Moustaki ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL London, Boston and Henley First published in 1981 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd 39 Store Street, London WC1E 7DD, 9 Park Street, Boston, Mass. 02108, USA and Broadway House, Newtown Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 1EN Printed in Great Britain by St. Edmundsbury Press Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk © Sally Box 1981 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in criticism. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Psychotherapy with families. 1. Family psychotherapy. 2. Psychoanalysis. I. Box, Sally. RC488.5.P79 616.89'156 81-7320 ISBN 0-7100-0854-6 To our patients without whom this book could not have been written Page Intentionally Left Blank CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Contributors x Introduction: Space for thinking in families Sally Box 1 1 The family and its dynamics 9 Margot Waddell 2 An outline of the history and current status of family therapy 25 Susan Zawada 3 Introducing families to family work 35 Beta Copley 4 Re-enactment as an unwitting professional response to family dynamics 48 Ronald Britton 5 Working with the dynamics of the session 59 Sally Box 6 Making space for parents 75 Anna Halton and Jeanne Magagna 7 Psychic pain and psychic damage 93 Gianna Henry 8 The micro-environment 105 Arthur Hyatt Williams 9 The aftermath of murder 120 Roger Kennedy and Jeanne Magagna