ABSTRACT
The first clinical sessions with the family are actually an outgrowth of the pretreatment planning that has already occurred. If the therapist has the cooperation of the other agencies involved with the case, has an understanding of the details surrounding the abuse, and has some initial working hypotheses about the family's dynamics, then the first clinical sessions will merely be a continuation of “treatment.” It is only when the therapist has failed to obtain these important prerequisites that the first sessions will seem formidable and awkward.
