ABSTRACT
The impetus for including a chapter relating family theory and systems thinking to group process emanated from a variety of sources not the least of which was my own evolutionary development as a professional. Trained initially in an individually oriented, primarily Rogerian model that emphasized necessary and sufficient therapeutic conditions in the counselor-client relationship and the mobilization of the inner resources of the client to resolve his or her problems, I quickly realized that a major discrepancy existed between what happened in the counselor’s office and what happened in the client’s life. The helping process that relied on the therapeutic relationship to mobilize intrapsychic forces for the purpose of implementing change often was insufficient to overcome the insurmountable obstacles presented by the client’s social system.
