ABSTRACT
In family therapy, because the general process is one of assisting the family to re¯ect on themselves, it is implicit that the therapist will check constantly where the family are in relation to their problem and their experience of the therapy. Although the issues discussed will have ranged far and wide in an attempt to make changes that in¯uence the family system, the presenting problem in the way that it is re¯ected in the family's mandate to the therapist is the reference point to which the therapist needs to return. As Pinsof (1983) notes, the problem/intervention link does not always have to be direct and obvious but the process of sponsoring change must always be conceptually tied to the problem and its resolution. By inviting the family to review and re¯ect on this mandate, the therapist encourages a selfmonitoring process, which at some point will lead to the termination process. Not only does the family need to monitor its own performance but the therapist also needs to develop the means and techniques of reviewing her own behaviour so that the direction of therapy is maintained.
