* There is an expanding international interest in collaborative practice based in dialogue, relational, social construction and related theories and Western postmodern and Eastern philosophies: all locate the source of meanings and values, and the actions we take, in our social and relational processes. * An essential resource and guide for professionals in diverse contexts, cultures, and disciplines, including consultants, leaders, mentors, educators, and trainers. * Divided into two parts, it describes and illustrates how readers can translate the concepts to their distinctive practice settings, their unique styles, and their clients' unique situations without the need for an across-the-board recipe solution * Written by an impressive selection of international contributors * Guided by philosophical principles and written in an accessible style

* There is an expanding international interest in collaborative practice based in dialogue, relational, social construction and related theories and Western postmodern and Eastern philosophies: all locate the source of meanings and values, and the actions we take, in our social and relational processes. * An essential resource and guide for professionals in diverse contexts, cultures, and disciplines, including consultants, leaders, mentors, educators, and trainers. * Divided into two parts, it describes and illustrates how readers can translate the concepts to their distinctive practice settings, their unique styles, and their clients' unique situations without the need for an across-the-board recipe solution * Written by an impressive selection of international contributors * Guided by philosophical principles and written in an accessible style

How can a therapist create the kind of relationship and conversation with a client that allows both to access their creativity and develop possibilities where none seemed to exist before? To answer this important question, Harlene Anderson invites us on a challenging, inspiring journey with an illuminating blend of postmodern theory and clinical narratives. We first meet a Swedish mother, whose experiences in therapy are wrought with frustration. The rest of the book is an answer to this mother's appeal, showing how therapists and clients can become conversational partners in a powerful process of transformation and change.Drawing on her experiences as a practitioner and teacher and on her clients' experiences of therapy, Harlene Anderson joins social thinkers who challenge the familiar culture of psychotherapy, including the foundations on which its theory, practice, research, and therapist education have been based. Anderson directly challenges the expert-nonexpert dichotomy and hierarchical structures that flow from it. She asserts that conventional premises and practices have lost their relevance in a world of rapid social transformation, and calls instead for a philosophy of therapy and a way of being in client relationships that invite collaboration. Conversation, Language, and Possibilities forges surprising links between postmodern theory and collabourative clinical practice. In this framework, human systems are viewed as systems of language and communication. Clients' voices are privileged. And language is generative in shaping,and reshaping,human life and relationships, creating potentials for positive change as infinite in variety and expression as the individuals who realize them.

The passion to continually be on the move to seek new understanding is a characteristic of the field of family therapy and systemic thinking over the last forty years. Many professionals have moved around, more or less freely, in and out of this field. Some have made footprints that will last for a long time. One of these is Tom Andersen. From a position as professor in social psychiatry at the University of Tromso in northern Norway he has moved around the world participating with other professionals in their efforts to develop their work and seek wider horizons.' - Harlene Anderson and Per Jensen, from the Preface

As the number of postmodern theoretical contributions to the literature of psychology has grown, so have postmodernism's appeals and recognitions of its relevance. Many of these writings suggest practical applications, yet there is a gap in the literature between theoretical explications and in-depth accounts of the many forms of everyday practice that flow from it. The proposed work will provide a means to bridge this gap.
"Invitations" will be a practice and guide book that brings together a collection of applications, innovations, and expansions of postmodern collaborative therapy with an emphasis on clinical practice. A wide variety of professionals from diverse disciplines, contexts, and cultures will detail what they actually do in their therapy practices. The book will also demonstrate the extension and usefulness of a postmodern collaborative approach to the domains of education, research, and organizations.
The text is divided into three sections. Each section provides descriptions of the application to a specific population, problem, or context. Section one provides the historical and theoretical background of collaborative therapy. Section two focuses on a variety of psychotherapeutic specialties including domestic violence, the elderly, chronic illness, eating disorders, and children. Section three offers examples of how postmodern perspective can be put into action

This book celebrates the life and work of Tom Andersen, who developed and promoted worldwide the reflecting conversation process, now referred to as dialogical or conversational practice, and which is transforming the practice of family therapy.The volume illustrates Andersen's passion for inspiring and supporting local efforts to transform mental health services throughout the world. Some chapters describe projects in their local communities, in places as diverse as Africa, South America, and Central Europe, in which they have creatively applied some of Andersen's ideas to change the way services are delivered and the way patients are understood and addressed. Others show how Anderson's ideas can act as a springboard for other major contributors to the family therapy field to develop and refine their own theoretical positions.The book is well framed by the two editors, who have known and worked with Andersen for many years, yet they have avoided any urge to deify him. Instead they give a clear-eyed description of his place in the field and the relevance of his ideas for systemic therapists and consultants. Central to this volume are Andersen's notion of respect, resourcefulness of clients, collaborative relationships, dialogue, and, of course, the well-known reflecting process-notions arising from Andersen's work and evolution as a therapist, but also shown in the context of actual practice so they can bring fresh ideas for contemporary therapists."This is an important book for our Series. It brings together people who have either previously contributed books to this Series or have been "present" in many volumes through the force and influence of their ideas. The book engages thereader at two levels. On one level it demonstrates how the ideas that Tom Andersen promulgates can be developed, or, as it seems in several chapters, how they can act as a springboard for other major contributors to the family therapy field such as Hoffman, Seikkula, Shotter and Harlene Anderson to develop and refine their own theoretical positions. Central to these authors are Andersen's notion of respect, resourcefulness of clients, collaborative relationships, dialogue, and, of course, the well-known reflecting process, but because these authors are sharpening the cutting edge of their own thinking, they are bringing fresh ideas for contemporary therapists." --David Campbell and Ros Draper, from the Editors' Foreword "The passion to continually be on the move to seek new understanding is a characteristic of the field of family therapy and systemic thinking over the last forty years. Many professionals have moved around, more or less freely, in and out of this field. Some have made footprints that will last for a long time. One of these is Tom Andersen. From a position as professor in social psychiatry at the University of Tromso in northern Norway he has moved around the world participating with other professionals in their efforts to develop their work and seek wider horizons."--Harlene Anderson and Per Jensen, from the Preface

As the number of postmodern theoretical contributions to the literature of psychology has grown, so have postmodernism's appeals and recognitions of its relevance. Many of these writings suggest practical applications, yet there is a gap in the literature between theoretical explications and in-depth accounts of the many forms of everyday practice that flow from it. The proposed work will provide a means to bridge this gap.
"Invitations" will be a practice and guide book that brings together a collection of applications, innovations, and expansions of postmodern collaborative therapy with an emphasis on clinical practice. A wide variety of professionals from diverse disciplines, contexts, and cultures will detail what they actually do in their therapy practices. The book will also demonstrate the extension and usefulness of a postmodern collaborative approach to the domains of education, research, and organizations.
The text is divided into three sections. Each section provides descriptions of the application to a specific population, problem, or context. Section one provides the historical and theoretical background of collaborative therapy. Section two focuses on a variety of psychotherapeutic specialties including domestic violence, the elderly, chronic illness, eating disorders, and children. Section three offers examples of how postmodern perspective can be put into action