Presents a therapeutic procedure designed to prescribe the family's troublesome behavior pattern. A complement precedes delivering a task assignment. The metaphorical task redefines the serious complaint pattern into only one of the many options a family has for dealing with each other. A case study is presented. (Author/BEF)

Presents a model of brief therapy with families allowing the therapist to develop a cognitive map of triadic interaction with a completeness which words alone cannot capture. The family is viewed as an interlocking system of interdependent relationships. Case material illustrates the use of this model in changing dysfunctional patterns. (Author)