Problem-Solving Therapy

A classic that teaches you how to think in a contextually sensitive, directive, and goal-focused way. A highly readable and practical volume that focuses on solving problems within the context of the entire social unit--the family, the school, the community. Introduction: Problem-Solving Therapy.

1. Conducting the First Interview.

2. Giving Directives.

3. Communication as Bits and Metaphor.

4. Communication: Sequence and Hierarchy.

5. Therapy in Stages.

6. Marriage Therapy as a Triangle.

7. Problems in Training Therapists.

8. Ethical Issues in Therapy.

Case Report: A Modern "Little Hans''. "Both revolutionary and pragmatic. It is written by a teacher oftherapy, and it stands as one of the very few "how-to" books thatreally give the reader an opportunity to learn from example."

"The book has justifiably become 'must' reading for family therapypractitioners and supervisors.''

Jay Douglas Haley was one of the founding figures of brief and family therapy in general and of the strategic model of psychotherapy, and he was one of the more accomplished teachers, clinical supervisors, and authors in these disciplines.

A “startling and pragmatic book”

“Whether a fine wine or a fine book, a true classic only improves with age. Such is the case with the second edition of Jay Haley’s still ‘startling and pragmatic book on family therapy.’…. Throughout, there is an interweaving of the conceptual and the practical, so that ultimately the book becomes an elegant ‘how-to’ exemplar for Haley’s approach to family therapy…. ‘Must’ reading.”
—Contemporary Psychology

In this ground-breaking book, Jay Haley focuses on solving human problems, achieving goals, and changing behaviors in reasonable amounts of time. Symptoms like depression and alcoholism are considered, not in isolation, but in the context of the entire social unit—the family, the school, the community. The mysterious process of therapy is clearly presented by a masterly and entertaining writer. For the first time in paperback, this modern classic is an indispensable guide for all those who help others.