ABSTRACT
In family therapy, therapists often find themselves stymied by such lack of cooperation and focus attention on talking with other family members. The technique aims to create and offer the adolescent client a safer role which to participate during therapy. Adolescents who lack interest sports may be offered a comparable role with different content. In phase I which occurs during the joining process at the beginning of contact between therapist and family, the therapist shifts attention away from negative emotions such as anger, fear, embarrassment, or guilt toward positive ones such as curiosity, optimism, and humor. In phase II the therapist comments on his or her own possible reactions to statements made by family members. In phase III, the therapist offers an open-ended task for family members to participate in together during the session. In the culminating phase, phase IV, the therapist introduces the idea of playing a character who is a professional commentator performing for an audience.
