Family Ties That Bind: A Self-Help Guide to Change Through Family of Origin Therapy.

Very insightful book on family of origin, formation on one's personality, and finding ways to heal from your past...

I have been recommending this book to friends and colleagues who are struggling with family issues. It is easy to read, and yet raises very relevant and practical questions. This is the perfect bridge between the most powerful academic ideas, and practical steps for anyone to take to understand themselves, and create better relationships with their family.There are many cases presented in the book that can help you see that what you're experiencing is common, and can be worked through. The underlying structure of the book is very solid--based on Friedman's emotional systems stuff. There is a part at the end on how to research and learn from your family history, going back several generations.Finally, there is a fun chapter on family position. I think it is meant to be general, and taken with a grain of salt. Having said that, I've found the research on the link between family position and couple compatibility to be very interesting.If you like this book and want more depth, read "Generation to Generation" by Edwin Friedman.

I read this book on the advice of a wonderful counselor. What I found most remarkable was that the Family Systems approach confirms the crucial importance of fathers in our lives, both as men and women. It seems that in our desire to correct the injustices commited against women by selfish and angry men, we have gone too far and ignored the fact that a father's love is vitally important for both men and women to find wholeness. This book doesn't give all the answers, but it is a step towards finding healing for our brokenness and the freedom to freely give of ourselves to loved ones, friends, and all those in need around us. A good follow up read to this book is Leanne Payne's "Crisis in Masculinity".

Richardson's early book is one of the most reasonable and non-sensational treatments on birth order and family dynamics. Goes beyond focusing on individual traits or characteristics, he takes seriously the overarching family systems theory that should inform any treatment on birth order.

This book provided valuable insight and information surrounding family of origin and birth order. It helped in understanding how and why we interact the way we do in our families. A very good basic and easy-to-read book. Excellent as a referral for clients.