Name of Concept
Sequences in couple and family therapy
Synonyms
Cycle of interaction; Patterns
Introduction
When the pioneers of family therapy introduced systems theory to create a paradigm shift from viewing human problems as originating within an individual to originating in the context of a family system, they sought to explain just how problems are embedded within a family context. Virtually all of these pioneers posited that problems are embedded in recurrent patterns of interaction. The term “sequence” was adopted to name a series of behaviors that recur in roughly the same manner and order over and over (Breunlin and Schwartz 1986). Using Google Scholar to search the phrase “sequences in couple and family therapy” reveals hundreds of articles naming sequences as central to the description of family forms, models of therapy, and the treatment of specific problems and populations. The concept of sequences continues to be a constant in the field of couple and family therapy and a...
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References
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Taussig, D. (2019). Sequences in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_915
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_915
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