Foundations of Family Therapy: A Conceptual Framework for Systems Change

Lynn Hoffman is one of the leading thinkers and practitioners in the field of family therapy and systems theory. Her book is a gem even though some parts may be a bit hard to follow. This is not because she is unclear, but brilliant.

This book is a timeless classic written by the most prolific author in our field. Hoffman's poetic voice and earthy genius is the perfect guide to the myriad theories of therapy and change that inform our work with famlies. No social worker, psychologist, family therapist or other helping professional should consider his or her training complete until s/he has purchased a copy of this volume for their library (and read it). Educators who think they can train and prepare students without this text are short changing their pupils. Hoffman introduces readers to every major thinker and pioneer in the field. However, Hoffman provides more than a survey of the major players and schools of family therapy, she isolates the specific contribution each therapist has made to our thinking about therapy and locates it in the larger context of change. Reading about the evolution of family therapy with Hoffman (who bore witness to many of the developments she writes about) not only helps us better understand an important part of our own and our professions past, but helps us to understand why we think about families and family therapy the way we do today.--Jonathan Diamond, author of Narrative Means to Sober Ends: Treating Addiction and Its Aftermath; private practice Northampton and Greenfield MA.