ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to Systemic Family Therapy (SFT). SFT is an approach to helping those with psychosis that involves not just the person who has experienced psychosis, but also family members, in the therapeutic process. The chapter begins with a first-hand account of the experience of what SFT was like for Zara and her family following and during her experiences of psychosis. She describes the content and the feel of the therapy, noting how this work helped her, but also some of the aspects of SFT that she struggled with. The changing course of the therapy and how this interacted with the changing course of her experiences of psychosis are discussed. In the second half of the chapter, Pekka, a SFT therapist, provides a general overview of the principles and practice of SFT. The broad range of approaches and traditions that have contributed to SFT, and how SFT might look in practice, are discussed. The chapter ends with a consideration of the research evidence that SFT can help individuals struggling with psychosis.
