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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy pp 1888–1893Cite as

Metacommunication in Couple and Family Therapy

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Introduction

Metacommunication means communication about communication. Verbal, nonverbal, or behavioral metacommunication cues, codes, and contextualizes interpersonal transactions and relationships (Watzlawick et al. 1967). Such metacommunication may or may not be congruent or coherent with overt messages (Bateson 1972) contributing to family disruptions and pathology. This understanding of the metacommunication shaped the development of family therapy approaches to change. A first-order level of change aims to resolve symptoms, which may not be sufficient unless a second order of change aims to transform and change how metacommunication occurs. While modern family therapy approaches focused on changing the family structure and dynamics of metacommunication, postmodern nonstructural approaches focused on the influences of language and societal norms on familial metacommunication. Such second-order meta-change processes are facilitated by therapeutic metacommunication which occurs...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Couples and Family Therapy Masters and Doctoral Programs, California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University (Los Angles), Alhambra, CA, USA

    Noah Hass-Cohen

  2. Couples and Family Therapy Masters and Doctoral Programs, California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University (Irvine), Irvine, CA, USA

    Rajeswari Natrajan-Tyagi

  3. Windward Way Recovery, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jeremy Arzt

Authors
  1. Noah Hass-Cohen
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  2. Rajeswari Natrajan-Tyagi
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  3. Jeremy Arzt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Noah Hass-Cohen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Jay L. Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Anthony L. Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Sean Davis

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Hass-Cohen, N., Natrajan-Tyagi, R., Arzt, J. (2019). Metacommunication in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_538

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