ABSTRACT
This chapter presents three anthropological theories of functions of myth which seem relevant to family therapists, and provides a working definition of ritual. In modern anthropology, social groups such as tribes and families are thought to consist of two interrelated structures; the social and the cultural. The goal of the chapter is to elaborate on the symbolic significance of myths and rituals and to show how they can be used in family therapy. In order to incorporate the concepts of family myth and therapeutic myth into a model of family therapy, one must include both the material plane and the ideational plane of family culture, the family's cultural system, and the therapist's therapeutic myths. The material plane of family culture is seen in the family's observable behaviors such as rituals and repetitive patterns. The ideational plane, on the other hand, is nonmaterial and nonobservable such that the beliefs, values, and affects shared wholly or in part by family members.
