ABSTRACT
A systemic framework for understanding the dynamics of couple interaction and for working with couples in therapy is delineated. Couples therapy offers a unique opportunity to utilize a systemic approach. Conversely, this approach is ideally suited to working with couples in general, and with warring couples, in particular. In this chapter, the author delineates the metaperspective of systems theory as a way of understanding both couple dynamics and therapeutic interaction. From the perspective of systems theory at the level of simple cybernetics, the focus of therapy is relational and contextual whether the client is an individual, a couple or a family. The battles in which they engage are part of the fabric of their relationship; they allow the couples to define who each member is with the other and are part of the process by means of which their stability is maintained.
