ABSTRACT
This chapter covers the Mental Research Institute (MRI) Brief therapy model as well as Strategic family therapy. Strategic family therapy was developed by Jay Haley and Cloe Madanes. Strategic therapy focuses on the present and is action oriented. The hallmark of Strategic therapy is the therapist's use of directives. Directives are tasks and interventions the therapist gives to the family. Directives can be either client-inspired or therapist-inspired. Client-inspired directives are when the therapist asks the clients to develop an idea about what might be useful and then to attempt that idea. Therapist-inspired directives are ideas of what might be helpful that originate from the therapist. Termination in Strategic therapy happens when family members are engaged in new sequences of behaviors that have become desired patterns. Family members never need to know why the problem happened, but that they are engaging each other in more productive ways.
