ABSTRACT
From the family's view the problem they are encountering is limited to a particular set of behaviours and interactions. The family systems view, however, considers that any reported problem is contained within a much wider interactive pattern than that considered by the family. The notion used to explain this is that of `punctuation of interaction'. In families each group of interactions is separated from others with a beginning and an ending. Much as with writing a sentence: you start with a capital letter and end with a full stop. Punctuating words in this way gives a particular meaning to the words in the sentence and distinguishes it from other sentences. However, the systems view is that life is just a continual stream of interaction (the words) and that where one places the beginning and end (the capital letter or full stop) is arbitrary. Each means of punctuating interaction makes sense in its own right. Hence, how we begin to consider a group of interactions may result in them having a different meaning depending on where we start or even ®nish. The notion of punctuation implies that any observable behaviour is part of a larger pattern of interaction (much as the ®eld example in Point 1). The therapist therefore has the task of exploring the interactive element of any reported problem and expanding the length of that interactive sequence so that the family can, in their own way, arrive at their own new punctuation. To do this the family need help in appreciating how the problem is embedded in how they interact.
