Generative inquiry in therapy
from problems to creativity
pp. 73-95
in: Toshio Sugiman, Kenneth J. Gergen, Wolfgang Wagner, Yoko Yamada (eds), Meaning in action, Berlin, Springer, 2008Abstract
I have directed Interfas since 1984. Originally a family therapy institute, it developed into a think-tank and a cultural organ used to disseminate innovative thinking and practices. In my work as a therapist I was concerned with how new possibilities could emerge in the therapeutic process. I wanted to find ways to use the resources that clients brought to bear on the process, ways to expand on and further what they were already doing well. In that context in the early nineties I found in the new, discursively oriented paradigms a meta-theory and a theory to sustain my academic interest and the development of my practice (Fried Schnitman and Schnitman 2002). My focus on a generative perspective was developed initially for therapy and then expanded to a range of diverse systemic perspectives and practices.