This 13 page paper discusses three models of family therapy. These three methods were derived from Bateson's cybernetic model, which suggests that behavior modification can be successful even if the exact cause of the abnormal behavior is not known. The three models descibed include the Milan Model, the "strategic model" as proposed by Solution Focused Haley and Madanes, and a model suggested by The Mental Research Institute. There are 7 sources listed in the bibliography.
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therapy has varied considerably both according to time and according to therapist. Batesons cybernetics model has been a particular influence, however. This model, a model which concentrates on
achieving behavioral modification rather than a precise insight into the cause of abnormal behavior, can be divided into three primary approaches: that proposed by The Mental Research Institute, the
strategic approach proposed by Solution-Focused Haley and Madanes, and the Milan Model (Niolan, 2002). Each model presents itself as being solution-focused yet these three approaches differ considerably in regard
to their perception of family development. These perceptions variously include the cybernetic model (an approach which recognizes runaway positive feedback loops), the structural model (an approach which attributes problems
to flawed family hierarchies), and the functional model (an approach which attributes a familys problems to the tendency of a family member to develop symptoms in order to control others)
(Niolan, 2002). A core group of psychologist are involved in each of the three solution-focused models noted above but each viewed
the root cause of problematic family development somewhat differently. Gregory Bateson, Donald Jackson, and Jay Haley were all integral players in Batesons cybernetics model (Niolan, 2002). Tucker (2002,
PG) notes that to Bateson familial problems exist in a system of units and feedback mechanisms and it is through the feedback that information is processed by the familial unit:
"Such systems can be ecological, social, and individual. Individuals are contextually located. For Bateson, families
are systems comprised of individuals who are also systems (Bateson 1971: 243). Most important for Bateson was the shift in focus from traditional linear thinking and the traditional perception of