A great resource!

Working with families can be challenging. I think Nagy understood that, and it was his unrelenting desire to 'do right by families' that underpinned his Contextual Model of Family Therapy. In their 2003 text, 'The New Contextual Therapy', Terry Hargrave and Franz Pfitzer (Brunner-Routledge) provide a usable and insightful look at the model, and present its components in a way that can be understood by seasoned practitioners and newcomers to the field of family therapy. Contextual therapy is such a valuable tool for therapists- and it is just as timely today as when Nagy proposed it in the 50s. In the book, the authors examine the four dimensions of the model--relationships-objectifiable facts, individual psychology, systemic interactions and relational ethics. If you do family therapy, and don't have a copy, get one! It will turn you on to contextual therapy, a way of helping to reshape and heal human relationships!

What is Contextual Therapy?

Contextual Therapy (Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy)The contextual model proposes four dimensions of relational reality:  facts (genetic input, physical health, basic historical facts, events in a person's life cycle, etc); individual psychology; systemic transactions (classical systemic family therapy, i.e.. rules, power, alignments, triangles, feedback, etc); and relational ethics. These dimensions are understood to be inter-linked. Relational focuses on the nature and roles of connectedness, caring, reciprocity, loyalty, legacy, guilt, fairness, accountability, and trustworthiness, within and between generations. Relational ethics is seen in relation to basic needs and real relationships with concrete consequences. Focuses on the interconnection between people. Contextual Therapy  aim is to evoke a dialogue of responsible mutual position-taking among family members, and consists of a sequential, empathic turning towards member after member (even absent members), in which both acknowledgment and expectation are directed at them. It is not a neutral or unilateral approach, and requires an appreciation of the 'ledger' from each person's point of view, even that of the current victimizer. The therapist has each family member explain their side of the story, in order to begin to understand the problem in terms of background facts, the relational context (i.e., intergenerational, interpersonal, and systemic), and deeper motivational factors (e.g., psychological processes, hidden loyalties and legacies, ledger imbalances, destructive entitlement resulting from real or perceived injustices, parentification of the child, etc.).  After the therapist has a preliminary understanding of the situation, issues requiring urgent attention (e.g., physical welfare, prevention of violence, etc.), are addressed,  especially in relation to the interests of the most vulnerable member(s), whether or not they are present at the therapy sessions.