Triangulation

Since the mid-1960s, there has been increasing appreciation for the importance of the family environment in understanding normative child development and child maladjustment. In their search for theoretically sound and empirically testable hypotheses about family functioning and its impact on children, researchers have found a rich resource in the work of family systems theorists and therapists. As a consequence, concepts from the study and practice of family therapy have slowly been working their way into the lexicon and empirical investigations of diverse disciplines (e.g., psychology, family studies, sociology). At its core, regardless of the specific model being applied, family therapy requires that one think of the family as a dynamic system in which all parts are interdependent (Minuchin 1985).