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Skynner, Robin

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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy

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Introduction

As a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and author, A.C. Robin Skynner was a pioneer in the development of the field of family therapy in Great Britain. He was influential in making significant changes in clinical work by integrating open systems and group analytic theory into family and marital therapy (Skynner 1969). He was a prolific psychotherapy trainer and writer. One of his best-selling books (Skynner and Cleese 1983) was, Families and How to Survive Them, co-authored with famous comedian John Cleese.

Career

The oldest of five sons, Dr. Skynner was born in Charleston in Cornwall England (Schlapobersky 2000). He was educated at St Austell County School and at Bludell’s School after which time at 18 years of age he volunteered for the Royal Air force. His interest in psychiatry stemmed from his WWII experience as a fighter pilot. The devastation and destruction he experienced led him to study the mind – specifically psychiatry after the war. He studied at the University...

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References

  • Groesbeck, C. J., & Taylor, B. (1977). The psychiatrist as wounded physician. American Journal of Psychoanalaysis, 37, 131–139.

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  • Schlapobersky, J. (2000, September 28). Obituary: Robin Skynner. The Guardian. pp. 1–4.

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  • Skynner, R. A. C. (1969). A group-analytic approach to conjoint family therapy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 10, 81–106.

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  • Skynner, R. A. C. (1979). Reflections on the family therapist as family scapegoat. Journal of Family Therapy, 1, 7–22.

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  • Skynner, R. A. C. (1982). An open systems, group-analytic approach to family therapy. In A. Burman & D. P. Knishkern (Eds.), Handbook of family therapy (1st ed., pp. 39–84). NewYork: Brunner/Mazel.

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  • Skynner, R. A. C., & Cleese, J. (1983). Families and how to survive them. United Kingdom Vermilion.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL, USA

    Diana Semmelhack

Authors
  1. Diana Semmelhack
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diana Semmelhack .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Jay Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Anthony Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. Couple and Family Therapy Department, Adler University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Kristina S. Brown

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Semmelhack, D. (2018). Skynner, Robin. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_1120-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_1120-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

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