ABSTRACT
An essential task in the ®rst if not the second session is for the therapist to outline an agenda for what is to be discussed and how sessions will be arranged. It is likely that in the initial phases the therapist will have led the discussion to some areas that the family did not expect and that the discussion has been wider ranging than they had anticipated. However, in forming an agreed agenda it is the presenting problem ± placed in its interactional context ± that constitutes the ultimate reference point to which all interventions and all assessments of those interventions must be related. The family's experience of the problem and their desire to make changes to remedy the situation de®ne the mandate that the family gives to the therapist. The mandate from the family's perspective will de®ne the boundary of the ongoing therapeutic work that they consent to. This mandate therefore sets a limit on the nature and extent of the interventions and approach that the therapist is `permitted' to perform. The connection between the presenting problem and interventions is the essence of this therapeutic mandate, which then legitimises the therapeutic work.
