ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author aims to give readers an outline of the development of multi-family groups, an understanding of the rationale for multi-family groups, and to describe in more detail the groups run by the author, in the hope that readers will want to 'have a go'. The idea of working with families experiencing long-term mental health problems began in the 1940s primarily in the US, but it was Laqueur's work in the 1950s and 1960s that led to the concept of multi-family therapy. The multi-family groups carried out in the Leeds Early Intervention in Psychosis service for young people aged between 14 and 34 years during their first episode of psychosis also drew on systemic principles, but were planned as brief workshops over a period. The author explains the background for the development of multi-family groups with psychosis, and to describe a basic short-term format with the hope that readers will be encouraged to run their own workshops.
