Rewriting family scripts : improvisation and systems change

Families can develop self-destructive routines so predictable that members seem to be following a script; each one coming in on cue as the plot unfolds. Such scripts can be altered, however, when families in therapy learn how to improvise new patterns of relating. Rewriting Family Scripts presents an innovative approach to doing just that; incorporating into family therapy elements of script theory and recent findings in attachment research, including those related to narrative. Developing a new systematic attachment concept, "the secure family base", from which individual members can feel safe enough to explore and improvise new scripts, author John Byng-Hall shows how families can change insecure relationship patterns both during and after therapy. Clearly written, jargon-free, and illustrated with detailed clinical case material, this book presents a comprehensive conceptual framework that illuminates the central issues of family therapy practice. This book is aimed at family and marital therapists and other therapists working with individuals, families or groups, who are interested in understanding and improving family dynamics. It also serves as a text in courses on family and marital therapy and courses on attachment theory.