ABSTRACT
Life in a family is complicated. It is good and bad, affirming and distressing, separate and connected. In a healthy family, there can be considerable joy, as well as inevitable tension. In a dysfunctional family, the heartache outweighs the joy, and the entire family suffers. However, pain is not confined to dysfunctional families. Every family, no matter how well functioning, faces moments of sorrow. A grandparent dies, a parent loses a job, or a child has trouble at school. These stressful events take their toll. Nevertheless, in a healthy family they do not destroy the fabric of the family, and the members typically rebound to a more comfortable level of functioning after they cope with the problem.
