Name of Concept
Floating objects
Introduction
Floating objects are therapeutic methods for systemic maintenances, developed by Philippe Caillé (MD, psychiatrist, family therapist) and Yveline Rey (PhD, psychologist, Emeritus Pr, family therapist) during the 1990s (Caillé and Rey 2004).
Floating objects belong to the constructivist school of thought. Beyond their cocreation function, throughout the therapeutic process, emotional enhancement, and playfulness, they reinforce the sense of belonging to the couple or family and promote empowerment. Floating objects can be seen as therapeutic rituals.
In summary, the main objectives are:
To mark the context as therapeutic
To reveal the founding models of the couple or the family (family myth)
To introduce new means of communication (other than verbal/digital), like nonverbal communication (analogical) or the use of metaphors
To reintroduce the dynamic of time
To leave a trace that will mark the therapeutic encounter
Theoretical Context
In the...
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References
Caillé, P., & Rey, Y. (1996). Il était une fois... la méthode narrative en systémique. Paris: ESF éd.
Caillé, P., & Rey, Y. (2004). Les objets flottants, méthodes d’entretien systémiques. Paris: FABERT.
Rey, Y., & Colpin, M. T. (2014). Le jeu de l’oie dans tous ses états, méthode d’entretien systémique originale: individus, couple, famille, institution. Paris: FABERT.
Rey, Y., & Gaillard, J. P. (2001). Deuil et thérapie familiale: Quels objets flottants? Thérapie familiale, 22(3), 251–268. Genève.
Rey, Y., & Halin, L. (2008). Prendre place, la famille, l’école, la thérapie. Paris: FABERT.
Rey, Y., & Prieur, B. (1991). Systèmes, éthique, perspectives en thérapie familiale. Paris: ESF ed.
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Rey, Y. (2019). Floating Objects 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_944
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_944
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