ABSTRACT
This chapter describes symptomatic behaviour as the individual's response to the threat of changing relationships, the development of our thinking has led therapists to the notion that problems in families result from the experience of 'bad fit' between the beliefs and behaviours of family members. In the context of a family group, the belief-guided behaviours create relationships among family members. The behaviour of one person impinges on the belief-behaviour 'ecology' of another. If individuals are able to allow relationships to shift and fluctuate, they may find a new ecology. But if such a shift is seen asa threat to important relationships, the individual concerned will become careful and more narrow in his or her view of the range of possibilities. The aim of a family therapist is to interact with the family in a way that introduces differences into the belief/behaviour pattern. Therapy is called in to redress the balance, and therapists need to understand the system through the problem.
