page 3-12
by Wray Pasco
page 13-18
This article looks at the Tao of Virginia Satir which is exemplified by her apparent effortless manner of facilitating change with respect and congruence. She worked with the 'rejects' of the psychiatric community and was successfully able to make changes to their lives by contacting their 'inner spirit' while loving them. Her apparently simple and respectful Tao of communication and ability to contact the life force accounted in part for the powerful transformations she made with individuals in large systems.
by Jim Lantz
page 19-24
by Edward W L Smith
page 25-26
by Edward W L Smith
page 27-49
With attempt to evoke unaccustomed thoughts, two levels of discourse on communication are brought together. The first level focuses on the work of Virginia Satir, especially her placing the abstractions of several psychodynamic mechanisms in the realm of operationalized styles of communication. The second level concerns a Nordic myth which I interpret as revealing that the tools of communication are hard won, communication is complex and multi-leveled, and understanding is a numinous event. Examples are given of the deepest meaning strata of several words relevant to couples therapy, reflecting the logos as revealed in the mytho-poesis.
page 51-59
by Y M Bernhard
page 61-67
Any primary style of living is a self constructed cage. It is both isolating and alienating in its impact on relationships. It becomes a barrier against intimacy in a wanted togetherness. It limits personal growth. When growth in intimacy is a wanted goal in a relationship, change becomes a necessity. To create a bridge to another (a bonding process) involves risking vulnerability (a process of breaking through one's defences). It also involves a clear communication, confrontation of differences, learning negotiation skills, and establishing person specific ground rules of living in intimacy. This allows the freedom of being different and the discipline of compromise and mutual caring.
by Paula Englander-Golden and David E Golden
page 69-93
This paper reviews the impact of Virginia Stair's communication work as reflected in the Say it Straight program for prevention of destructive behaviors and promotion of wellness with young people, parents and other adults in many settings such as classrooms, student support groups, juvenile detention, cooperative learning teams, chemical dependency treatment and prison. Results of 13 years of research and training with the Say it Straight program show the applicability of Virginia's work in preventing alcohol/drug related school suspensions, juvenile crime offences, precocious sexuality/pregnancy, and in promoting good communication skills, self-esteem, positive relationships, and quality of life.
by Sheldon Z Kramer
page 95-101
This article articulates the major premises of Sheldon Z. Kramer's book, Transforming the Inner and Outer Family: Humanistic and Spiritual Approaches to the Mind-Body Systems Therapy (The Haworth Press, Inc., 1995). This overview briefly introduces and explains the power of psychotherapy, meditation and the use of the body, creating congruent communications, working with incongruence in couples and bridging the inner and outer couple.
by Maryhelen Snyder
page 103 - 110
Certain therapeutic methods with couples can enhance the potential for mutual empathy and the co- creation of the meanings. These methods invariably require a willingness to experience that quality of excitation which is, in its extremes, both terror and passion. Couples report, however, that once having crossed the initial barrier to this deeper level of communication, the process seems deeply relaxing. They also often observe that the experience of being "at one " with another, simultaneously intensifies the experience of being in their own bodies, individually alive.
by Margaret A. Waller
page 111 - 120
This paper examines Satir's concept of congruence and the possibility of a "Tao of communication" in historical , social and cultural context. The author then suggests alternative strategies for facilitating mutual understanding among couples.
by Barbara Jo Brothers
page 123 - 125
by Barbara Jo Brothers
by Bill Davis, Jean McLendon, Miriam Freeman, Nyra Hill, Judi Loberg, Twink Lester, Catherine Huber
page 143 - 152
This response presents a different understanding of Satir's concept of congruence, and its importance in the therapeutic and human experiences that lead towards health and functionality. Sine congruence addresses the primary elements of the human condition - Self, Other, and Context -we observe that congruence is relevant across classes, cultures, and time.
by Margaret A. Waller
page 149 - 152
by Vivian Nelson, Bill Roller
page 153 - 159
The following excerpts are taken from several hours of conversation with Virginia Satir in which Virginia shares here personal reminiscences of her development as a therapist and the intellectual environment that stimulated some of her most creative work. She reflects on her association with Gregory Bateson and other prominent theorists in the field. In deceptively concise language, she puts forth her own seminal views on the complex nature of change and the processes that underlie family therapy and group therapy.
by Joyce Elijah
page 161 - 162