ABSTRACT
Human beings are distinguishable from the animal kingdom because of the faculty of speech. We speak either verbally or through body language, looks, postures and silence. In their formulation of Systems Theory, Watzlawick, Beavin and Jackson (1967) declared a cardinal concept, that it is impossible not to communicate in human interactions. Every behaviour, including silence, communicates something about a relationship. It is necessary to learn how to be fully attentive when we are working with families in therapy and to incorporate a thorough knowledge of both verbal and non-verbal communication. This is particularly true when we meet with families from different cultures, who have unfamiliar language, cultural and relational rules. In this situation, it is not sufficient to translate and listen only to the words. We also need to interpret all the non-verbal signals that convey essential values and appreciate the diversity inherent in differing cultures. A competent therapist, therefore, needs to learn how to listen to and value every expression of language, whether familiar or foreign. She will also need to become a translator of different languages within the family itself, giving space to the language of both genders, masculine and feminine, and to those belonging to the world of adults and the world of children and adolescents.
