Of Clocks and Rubber Bands: On the Use of Props in Family Therapy

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the use of two props that have been used by this writer as invariable presaiptions in apprpximately four decades of clinical practice with children, couples, and families. A search of the literature failed to find any reference to similar use in therapy except for the use of tokens in behavioral therapies. Behavioral techniques, of course, have long used incentives and tokens as reinforcements for meritorious or positive behavior. Props have no incentive nor rewarding value. They are used to correct deficits or dysfunctional pattens of relating that need more than just words to be changed.