R121: Masters of Family Therapy, Part 1

This group of unforgettable personalities vastly expanded the definition of what a therapist can be and served as role models, both acknowledged and unacknowledged, for the generations of therapists to come. This Reading Course offers vivid Networker profiles-some drawn from the Networker's early days-- of the core figures in the family therapy movement, chronicling both the clinical contribution each made, as well as exploring the nature of their clinical artistry. Among the figures included are Salvador Minuchin, Virginia Satir, Murray Bowen, Carl Whitaker, and Jay Haley.

Course Readings

Jay Haley by Richard Simon

Maestro in Consulting Room: At 83, Salvador Minuchin Is Still Reflecting on Clinical Wisdom by Mary Sykes Wylie

Murray Bowen: Family Therapy’s Neglected Prophet by Mary Sykes Wylie

Crazy Like a Fox: Remembering Carl Whitaker by Mary Sykes Wylie

Remembering [Virginia] Satir by Richard Simon

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss the impact of Salvador Minuchin on family therapy
2. Explain Murray Bowen's theory of differentiation
3 Contrast the therapy approaches of Satir and Haley
4. Explain Haley's rationale for working with symptoms