ABSTRACT
If family therapists want to expand their practice, one way is to use their therapy skills to work with family businesses. These businesses are ones in which a family has majority control or ownership and two or more family members work or have worked together. Some examples include the parent-child relationship of Playboy Enterprises with Hugh and Christy Hefner or Mrs. Fields Cookies, which was started by a husband-and-wife team. Sibling and cousin teams also make up family businesses. These businesses do not have to be large. Many small businesses such as your neighborhood dry cleaners or car dealership may be family owned and operated, too. What they all have in common is a dual relationship of combining family relationships with working relationships.
