ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 highlights the importance of having a model for doing therapy. Unlike pure model adherents that overemphasize specific ingredients or interventions, we as common factors proponents believe that models are important for different reasons. Therapy is helpful largely because the couple's or family's chaos is replaced with the therapist's order (i.e., their model/theory of change). Without a model/theory of change to guide the therapist, the therapist will not know what to attempt to change, how to change it or how to know when therapy is complete. Replacing one person's chaos with another's will not help. Though we contend that a therapist should be familiar with many credible models of therapy, we also strongly advocate that a therapist be flexible within those models. A therapist should not lose sight of the ends (a successful therapeutic outcome and strong alliance) as they focus on the means (i.e., the interventions) and should be willing to abandon the model's means if they are not helping the clients reach desired ends. This chapter helps the reader understand how they originally chose and currently use models in their work with couples and families. The reader will critically examine how their current model fits with both their own worldview and the worldviews of their clients.
