You would think this book is for specialists: family therapists, psychologists, social workers and so on. But is not. Or at least not only. Specialists will enjoy a book that is literature and still challenges your perspectives so deeply, but non-specialists will be especially amazed.
As a matter of fact, we all can be labeled "specialist", when it comes to FAMILY. We all know a big deal about our family and its structures, and its sorrows and its joys, don't we? Mr. Minuchin explains how families work in a way that will change your ideas about it forever and, accordingly, he challenges the way specialists have been working with families in the last years.

I particularly liked the observation of "normal" families who are dealing with divorce or remarriage of its members. I must admit I had never thought of divorce in a historical perspective, as Minuchin succeeds in putting it.
The description of the families with anorectic members are very interesting. Anorexia is treated by specialists as a very difficult issue to cure, and it is amazing to see how focusing on the family it becomes easier to understand and possibly to overcome.
In another section of the book, Mr. Minuchin describes how The Law takes decision about problematic families, completely ignoring their situation of "being a whole" and causing spirals of unresolved problems. He describes some extremely interesting cases of child murder and parent murder and analyses them, to convince us that our actual system of justice is absolutely biased when it comes to families.

What makes the book particularly enjoyable is the use of scripts of real session with families to explain the author's theories. If you are one of those readers, who-like me- love books filled up with dialogues, you'll love this! In a couple of cases, Minuchin writes himself a fictional dialogue, based on his expertise of families. And it is beautiful fiction too!

If you're new of Minuchin theories and techniques this is the book to read!
For further reading about Anorexia Nervosa, get Psychosomatic Families, anorexia nervosa in context, by S.Minuchin et Al.
If you're amazed by Minuchin healing power, get Family Therapy Techniques, by S.Minuchin

A great book. Sad how child and family have to suffer

Sal Minuchin is known as the primary theoretician behind Structural Family Therapy. Structural Therapy is especially helpful with families that have inappropriate boundaries or that have dysfunctional marital dyads. This book explains the concepts behind the theory and helps the clinician understand how to put the therapy into practice. The book is well written and easy to read.

Even if a therapist is primarily working with another counseling theory, this is an important book to have read and to have as part of the therapeutic repetoire.

i read this about two months ago, so take this with a grain of salt. then again, maybe it's better, cause here's what's stuck with me. it was a good book, but it really helped that i was into salvador minuchin already before reading it. if you don't know him, he's quite an icon, and i recommend watching some of his videos, because they really point to his genius, and for me, were the inspiration to want to delve deeper into his work.

this book tells a lot of minuchin's history, his development as a doctor and therapist, some early strengths of his as well as foibles and weaknesses (interesting stuff!), and just a fair amount of stuff you'd expect in any 3/4ths of the way decent autobiography.

anyway, my mind is shot so i'll leave this book in your hands. if you're interesting in minuchin, i don't think you'll regret reading this book, but i wouldn't recommend it as an intro to him or his work...

The nation's pioneer in family counseling and therapy shares his priceless wisdom with us in this book. Minuchin is a towering figure whose genius and brilliance will continue to help many families save themselves. Thank you Dr. Minuchin for writing this book.

Minuchin is a master not only of the art of Family Therapy, but of informative prose as well. Very specific techniques for responding to a range of family dynamics are presented along with relevant theory and poignant vignettes. Though developed in the 1970's, Minuchin's vision for sparking change by "joining" and then working from within families remains powerful and relevant. The techniques in this well written manual resemble those of the modern Narrative Therapy movement, but are presented in a fashion both accessable to the Family Therapy novice and usefull to the seasoned professional.

If you can, pick a different family theory book. No, the information provided in this book is not difficult to grasp but the book rambles, repeats itself, and is frustrating to slog through. It seems as if the two authors decided who would write what chapter and then found themselves repeating each other. A good editing would cut the book by half. Goldenberg and Goldenberg would be a better choice or try Family Counseling and Therapy by Arthur Horne.

This book is a well thought out book with basic introductions to family therapy, as well as different theories, as well as case studies. This was the first book I bought about family therapy and I have been using it as a reference for the past year. This book is not too expensive, and will be a book the you will use throughout your entire therapy coursework.

I have tried several books on family therapy as texts for my graduate course on Family and Couple therapy. This book is superior to other books that I have tried. The authors explain theoretical positions clearly and most importantly organize this vast area of social science into a well-organized discussion that is interesting and easy to follow. It is a serious text rather than convoluted and I'm thankful a text such as this for my students. Dr. Deborah Khoshaba