ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how curiosity was used in research to understand more about the perspectives of family members, and develops ideas about possible obstacles to development of a working alliance with families, as well as considering potential approaches to the repair of ruptures in relationships, when/if they occur. It considers issues of terminology and identification of the types of dilemmas. The chapter outlines some of the thinking with regard to building and maintaining relationships with family members during rehabilitation, drawing on models of collaboration, and alliance from other areas of psychology as well as the limited research from within neuropsychology. A key task for any therapist is to map out the incidence of predisposing vulnerability factors and heightened risk, and for this a bio-psycho-social-family framework is useful. When considering the development of an alliance between families and therapists, it is crucial to consider the influence of context on beliefs held and the lens through which individuals perceive the problem.
