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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy pp 1–3Cite as

Perturbation in Couple and Family Therapy

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Name of Concept

Perturbation in Couple and Family Therapy

Introduction

Perturbation is a hallmark of many foundational schools in couple and family therapy. Couple and family therapists commonly use perturbing interventions in their clinical practice to challenge and rebalance problematic couple and family dynamics.

Theoretical Framework

Grounded in cybernetic theory (Bateson 1972), perturbation leads to second-order change through a shift in rule systems, resulting in the resolution of the presenting problem(s). Perturbation is traditionally associated with strategic, Mental Research Institute (MRI), and Milan family therapy approaches. Strategic therapists often “perturb” family systems with paradoxical prescriptions and/or directives, by, for instance, assigning clients ordeal tasks related to but more severe than the problem they seek to change (Haley 1984). MRI therapists employ reframing or symptom prescription to interrupt clients’ problematic interactional sequences to force a...

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References

  • Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind: Collected essays in anthropology, psychiatry, evolution, and epistemology. Northvale: University of Chicago.

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  • Haley, J. (1984). Ordeal therapy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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  • Keeney, B. P., & Ross, J. M. (1983). Cybernetics of brief family therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 9, 375–382.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marriage and Family Therapy & Counseling Studies, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, LA, USA

    Ruoxi Chen, Jason P. Austin & Jarodd W. Hundley

Authors
  1. Ruoxi Chen
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  2. Jason P. Austin
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  3. Jarodd W. Hundley
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ruoxi Chen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Jay Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Anthony Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Eli Karam

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© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

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Cite this entry

Chen, R., Austin, J.P., Hundley, J.W. (2018). Perturbation in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_760-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_760-1

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  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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