The Family Crucible

The classic groundbreaking book on family therapy by acclaimed family psychology 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 family relationships—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 counseling and communication.

What really happens behind the closed doors of a therapist’s office?

• The Family as a System: Discover why the “problem patient” is often just a symptom of a larger family issue and how unspoken rules and hidden loyalties can dictate everyone’s behavior.
• Dysfunctional Dynamics: Identify destructive patterns like scapegoating, triangulation, and blaming in your own relationships and understand the powerful roles they play in keeping a family stuck.
• The Therapeutic Process: Witness the “battle for structure” as a family in crisis tests their therapists, and see how a therapeutic team guides them through conflict toward connection.
• A New Model for Marriage and Parenting: Move beyond blame and learn a new language for family relationships built on mutual understanding, clear communication, and authentic connection.