"Madanes' lucid, coherent, and practical guide for family therapists is a welcome addition to the proliferating literature by family therapy theorists and practitioners. The book is concise, well organized and clearly written.

Healing the whole family

"A technique that frees up old patterns, confuses past modes of communication, and touches a healthy playfulness in family members. Her approach is humane and gentle."
—Library Journal

"In a manner both bold and generous, the author shares her therapeutic skill."
—Family Therapy Networker

When the family is in trouble, every member feels the pain. Problems must be addressed, not in isolation, but in the context of the family environment. Cloé Madanes' model of strategic therapy focuses on the distribution of power within the family. While giving attention to specific problems like violence, drug abuse, marital distress, psychosis, and depression, this classic work seeks the hidden meaning in these symptoms, which are clues to the underlying structure of the family as a whole. Imaginative techniques that often use play and fantasy as well as paradox and metaphor help to achieve balance and health in the ways family members relate to each other and function in the world at large.

"Madanes' lucid, coherent, and practical guide for familytherapists is a welcome addition to the proliferating literature byfamily therapy theorists and practitioners.... The book is concise,well organized and clearly written."
--Contemporary Psychology

A classic work which uses imaginative techniques to help achievebalance within the family. It gives attention to specific problemssuch as violence, drug abuse, and depression, and seeks the hiddenmeaning in these symptoms, which are clues to the underlying familystructure.