ABSTRACT
F a m i l i e s o f t h e S l u m s ( M i n u c h i n , M o n t a l v o , G u e r n e y , Rosman and Schumer, 1967) marked the first attempt at a comprehensive exposition of a structural type of family therapy. It was the sixties. T h e r e was a social revolut ion i n progress i n the U n i t e d States and family therapy was beg i n n i n g to gain w i d e acceptance. M i n u c h i n and his co-workers were at a juncture where these two forces met and l e d them, a ided by a federal grant, to attempt an experiment i n the appl i - cation of the b u d d i n g theory of family therapy to l o w socioeconomic families. M i n u c h i n and his colleagues were w o r k i n g at the W i l t w y c k School for Boys , an inst i tut ion pr imar i ly serving black and Puerto Rican youngsters from N e w York C i t y ' s ghettos. It was an insti tution for boys, but the staff made it a treatment for families.
