Virtually all significant relationships are shadowed by a third party-another person, a competing distraction, or even a memory. This groundbreaking book provides clinicians with a hands-on guide to working with many different kinds of relationship triangles in therapy with families, couples, and individuals. The authors show why triangles come into being, how to predict their evolving nature, and how they can be dealt with and resolved in treatment. A wealth of clinical case material and treatment suggestions illustrates how thinking in terms of threes, as well as individuals and dyads, can greatly increase therapeutic flexibility and effectiveness. The paperback edition includes a new series editor's note by Michael P. Nichols.
I read the book for my family therapy studies a few chapters at a time. The first half of theory was a bit hard to grasp but started to make sense alongside Murray Bowen’s differentiation theory. The second half is very practical about specific triangles that occur more often. The book offers insights both for my own life and my clients’s lives.
This was by far the most helpful book I read at Seminary, and I would encourage everyone to read it. Helps you to understand and consciously examine your relationships with friends and family and to work toward a more healthy relationship with everyone in your life.