Description

“If you have a troubled marriage, a troubled child, a troubled self, if you’re in therapy or think that there’s no help for your predicament, The Family Crucible will give you insights . . . that are remarkably fresh and helpful.”—New York Times Book Review

The classic groundbreaking book on family therapy by acclaimed experts Augustus Y. Napier, Ph.D., and Carl Whitaker, M.D.

This extraordinary book presents scenarios of one family’s therapy experience and explains what underlies each encounter. You will discover the general patterns that are common to all families—stress, polarization and escalation, scapegoating, triangulation, blaming, and the diffusion of identity—and you will gain a vivid understanding of the intriguing field of family therapy.

About the Author

Augustus Y. Napier was born in Decatur, Georgia, in 1938 and graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in English. After deciding to become a therapist through a personal therapy experience, he earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina. During an internship in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he began to work with Dr. Whitaker as a student co-therapist, an experience which formed the basis of this book. Dr. Napier later served on the faculties of the Psychiatry Department and the Child and Family Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin. He now directs The Family Workshop, a family therapy training institute in Atlanta, Georgia, where he works frequently with his wife, Margaret, who is also a family therapist. A frequent consultant, he is the author of numerous papers and of The Fragile Bond, published by Harper & Row in 1988. The Napiers have three children.

Carl Whitaker, M.D., was professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. He was one of the founders of the field of family therapy.

Praise For…

“Brings fresh insight to our understanding of family interactions, the forces that contribute to marital failure, and how family therapy can aid in revitalizing interpersonal relationships.” — Psychology Today

“This is a book that shows how psychological growth occurs and opens new avenues of thought about changing daily life patterns.” — Los Angeles Times

“Highly absorbing and readable.” — American Journal of Psychiatry

“A thoughtful, well-written book.” — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel