Abstract
M.A. (Clinical Psychology)
As family therapy has gained acceptance as a treatment modality within the mental health field, increasing attention has been directed towards theory development. With the focus on theoretical issues, including that of epistemology, a division has arisen between strategic and ecosysternic approaches to family therapy. This study was undertaken in order to examine the nature of this debate. The work of Jay Haley was chosen as representative of the strategic approach, and that of Bradford Keeney as representative of the ecosystemic approach to family therapy. The study proceeded on the assumption that fundamental differences exist between the two approaches, which reflect the difference between a lineal and a non-lineal epistemology. In order to place the study in context, the historical development of the family therapy field was reviewed and the conclusion was reached that family therapy represents a method of conceptualising human behaviour, which isdiscontinuous with previous conceptualisations, and which parallels similar shifts in other disciplines. The concept of epistemology within the family therapy field was explored. The lack of clarity which continues to characterise the use of this term within the field, may be attributed, at least in part, to its confusing use by influential writers in the field. The underlying assumptions, central theoretical concepts and methodology of both Haley's strategic therapy and Keeney's cybernetic epistemology, were delineated and the two approaches were then compared along a number of critical dimensions.
The investigation established significant conceptual differences between the two
approaches and the conclusion was reached that these differences reflect essential
epistemological differences. While Keeney's ecosystemic approach is consistent
with a non-lineal epistemology, Haley's approach continues to reflect an underlying lineal epistemology