ABSTRACT
During behavioural family therapy crises will often arise in the household. For the most part, these crises occur as a result of ineffective problem solving by the household members, both individually and collectively. Whereas the therapist may be tempted to stop the action and prompt less hostile exchanges, the main concern during a crisis discussion is whether the communication is clearly contributing to resolving the problem. Thus, such heated discussion may be ignored, until a point where it ceases to further the problem-solving process or becomes abusive in nature. The management of emotional abuse in households is fraught with difficulty. It is defined as any recurring pattern of behaviour contributing to major distress in others. Suicide is another form of behaviour with a very low frequency of occurrence, yet it is often associated with family and relationship distress, especially bereavement, family breakup, work failure, as well as with serious mental or physical health problems.
