This book, by Dr. Augustus Napier with the help of Dr. Carl Whitaker, begins in a very friendly fashion. First, the reader is introduced to Dr. Whitaker, and then, he is introduced to the family that is being canceled. I am not familiar with Dr. Whitaker or his work, but the author is obviously a very big fan as well as colleague. I found the author's discussion interesting about his being late for the appointment and then about how Dr. Whitaker would have filled those moments of waiting.

When the author initially met the family, he was very observant, and his writing sounded almost like the opening of a melodrama. He commented about the phony handshaking process, about the wife's "almost pretty" looks, and about the daughter's better looks. But then, from a counseling perspective, his observation about the mother's depression was good because that will probably become useful as they get into the session. He picked up on the daughter, Claudia, as being the reason for their visit, so she must be the identified patient. And another flag was that the parents did not sit together. The choice of which daughter sat with which parent was also significant because they suggested alliances within the family.

When a family therapist first encounters the family to be counseled, making mental notes about the family's behavior, as Dr. Napier did in the opening chapter and with Don in the second, is important. Because he has payed close attention to each of the family members, he has gotten some valuable clues about their situation without having to ask any difficult questions. I was surprised, however, that Dr. Napier asked to be informed about the family while they were present. As I was reading that, I thought that Dr. Whitaker's response could set off an argument, and it did. If the two therapists did not want to start the argument, then they should have waited for the son to arrive before getting started. His absence made the first session very difficult and seemed to put the therapists in a conflict situation against the family. However, I thought that the author's frankness about their being tested by the family and about providing external support to the family answered my criticisms of the first chapter. I still think, though, that this whole scenario might have played out very differently if only one therapist had been involved.

In the second session, I was surprised to see the father do so much talking since he had said so little during their first meeting. He was obviously hurting because of Claudia's behavior, but Dr. Whitaker's question to divert attention away from the daughter was a good move. If she was the identified patient or scapegoat, then her behavior was probably trying to somehow bring balance to the family. Therefore, Dr. Whitaker's question seemed to be looking for the other out-of-balance components of the family. I thought that Dr. Napier's dialogue with Don over his absence was silly. No wonder Don made the remark about it just being his lucky day.

On a more serious note, though, the session did uncover the complaint patterns within the family, and it sounded like the wrong people were being forced to hear the parents' complaints. The son should not have to bear his mother's burdens, and Claudia should not have to bear the father's. The conflict between Claudia and her mom, with the father not far behind, was an example of triangulation, as discussed in the chapter entitled The Basic Conflict. The mother should be confronting the father about his work habits, and he should be making whatever adjustments are necessary for the sake of the family. Since he is a lawyer, he probably does not need to work so much or be so secluded when he is at home. He is probably just using work as a way to escape the problems at home, and she is probably using visits to her mom to do the same thing. Less work, fewer visits to mom, less blaming each other for Claudia, and perhaps giving Claudia more space at home might do a lot to help this family regain some of its balance.

Dr. Napier, in my opinion, was trying to change the family structure when he asked Claudia and the mother to switch places. That change in seating put the parents together, as a team, and the children together, as they should be and subordinate to the parents. The shift seemed to put everyone more at ease and in a mood to listen to the two counselors. That was very good. From the battery of tests that Claudia took, it was obvious that she had a lot of problems.

In the chapter entitled Origins, the author seemed to undermine much of Freud's work. I was surprised that Freud would have published a book without verifying the validity of his data, but I was also surprised that the author openly criticized him for not having looked at the social environment of his patients. Freud may not have had all the answers. But he was the first to explore psychoanalysis, and for a very long time, many people thought that he was the expert. Besides that, counselors today may still not have all the answers, either. Dr. Napier admitted that family therapy is still in its adolescence.

In The Concept of the System, the author picked up from where Freud left off and explained how counselors have carried his theories to the next step, which has been the birth of family therapy. By studying the schizophrenics when they were around their parents, researchers came up with some ideas that had not been considered before, mainly that of seeing the family as a system. The illustration of the foxes and rabbits, used in the book, made it easier to understand the concept of a system. Plus, this chapter also provided some good discussion about and definitions for schizophrenics, systems, and the identified patient. While reading this chapter, I began to see that the author has used the Brice family as his way to explain the development of Marriage and Family Counseling. So, I expect him to eventually say or at least suggest that a child like Claudia would have been institutionalized fifty years ago.

My first impression of the chapter Initiative was how tough it would be for the Brice family to confront one another. As I read the chapter, I felt uneasy about the silence, and then, because I am a dad, I could visualize David trying to talk to Claudia. Linking Claudia's problems to the marriage is consistent with what I said above about the father's always working and the mother's excessive travels to her mother's side. In the next chapter, the author revealed another concern that I had had in one of the earlier chapters, and that is Carolyn's mom. When either or both husband and wife are too attached to their parents, that attachment is not good for the family. At this point, the author is doing a good job of mixing the Brice case story with his presentation about the history of family counseling.

In the chapter entitled Toward Marriage, I felt embarrassed for David and Carolyn. I would not expect very many kids to know about the quality of their parents' sex life. The conversation seemed inappropriate to me, but I thought that Dr. Napier's advice to Carolyn about not being a little girl during arguments with David was pretty good. I also did not agree with Dr. Whittaker's comment about Dr. Napier and him being their therapists instead of them learning to help each other. I would think that lifelong therapy creates problems of its own, not to mention the financial burden on a normal household. To me, part of the family healing process is to get David and Carolyn to where they can function as the parents of the family and help themselves.

In the chapter where they reached a partial resolution, I wondered how things would have been had the door not been locked when Claudia tried to leave. As it turned out, Dr. Whittaker was able to bring the session to a nice conclusion, but things could have easily ended much, much worse. In the next chapter, where they decide to break off their sessions for a week or so, I was glad that the two doctors were willing to trust the family to go forward without them. However, I expect that the Brice family will be back.

In The Underlying Crisis, the discussion about affairs in marriages was interesting. However, I am not sure that I agree with the author about the implied guilt of the betrayed spouse. The fact that Eleanor had inadvertently given sanction to John about an affair does not, in my mind, give John the liberty to be unfaithful. Some of the ideas in this book have seemed radical to me, and this particular one is probably among the most radical. At this point, I am not sure why this chapter is even in this book, but I suppose that I will find out. Perhaps, this chapter is only supposed to show the reader more about why and how bad situations occur in the family.

The event that brought the Brices back to the counselors was their son. So, my first thought was that he had become the new scapegoat, and this notion was repeated in the chapter entitled The Therapeutic Moment. I followed everything in the chapter that talked about their return, but I was a little turned off by Carolyn's closing remark about being scapegoated. These people are in serious trouble, and I found her remark about being scapegoated to be a little too callous and corny. But that is just my opinion, of course.

In the chapter entitled Hate, I was surprised by the wrestling match between a client and his counselor, and it made me think about the classroom remarks by Dr. Lawson about Dr. Whittaker. However, I was struck by another point as well. Since the beginning of this book, Carolyn has been insisting that her children not talk to her in certain negative ways, and now, in this chapter, Dr. Whittaker does essentially the same thing. He tells Don that he is not about to climb all over him, and if I were Carolyn, I am not sure how I would feel about that kind of remark. For all his skills as a counselor, Dr. Whittaker does not always please this family by some of his maverick techniques and methods. To his credit, though, his methods did seem to help Don. In the chapter, The Therapeutic Moment, is it a good thing when father and son wrestle, presumably in anger? I am not sure that I would agree because ,with a family like the Brices, we might next see them in some kind of physical abuse counseling.

In chapter 15, Collision Course, Carolyn finally had the breakdown that she has needed so that she could release some of her anger and hurt. I still question how much of this outburst had to be witnessed by the children, but I understand that much of the process must happen as it has been presented in this book. In the following chapter, I am glad that Dr. Napier would not allow a special session for Carolyn without the presence of the rest of the family. In the chapter that spoke about divorce, I do not have any comments. I think the author had a very matter-of-fact approach to the topic, but I suppose he has often been involved with families and marriages that do not survive. I understand that not all stories have a happy ending.

In the chapter David, I probably should not have been, but I was a little surprised by the suggestion that David's family fly to town and come in for a few sessions. After a few classes with Dr. Lawson, however, I am now aware of the good and bad family behaviors that can sometimes be passed along from one generation to the next. Also, from the title of chapter 19, my guess is that somehow this special group session with David's parents is about to take place.

While reading through the chapter on the session with David's parents, I felt bad because of the attacks on the elder Brices. I felt as though they were being blamed for David and Carolyn's problems, and I was also turned off by the suggestion that they return to Boston and undergo their own counseling. To me, parents can many, many times get bad raps. If a child is punished when young and later goes bad, then it is because the parents were too hard on him or her. If a child is not punished when young and later goes bad, then it is because the parents were not hard enough.

My impression of functionalism is that it might sometimes look for someone to blame rather than reinforcing the idea that everyone must take responsibility. I do not have a better approach for fixing the problems in the Brice family. But my conclusion is that this book has caused me to feel a lot of different emotions, some good and some bad, about the whole process of family therapy. I definitely would not want to be a part of the Brice family and have to undergo this kind of counseling. But I am not sure that I would want to be like Dr. Whittaker, either. I found Dr. Napier's style more to my liking.

On a more positive note, I am glad that this family was held together. I enjoyed reading the book and having an actual example of the family therapy process. I noticed that the author seemed to be pushing the idea of having co-therapists, and I can understand the advantage of having someone else on your side when you are taking on a whole family. However, what disappointed me most about this book is that this family and others like them might live the rest of their lives together, thinking that everything is pretty good, but then die lost. If I were a family counselor, I would at some point want to, or at least hope to, be more evangelical and bring Christ into the sessions.

				Tom of Bethany

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