STORIES WE TELL EACH OTHER - A COMPARISON OF FAMILIES AND THEIR THERAPISTS EXPLANATIONS OF PRESENTING PROBLEMS

This study reports the explanations of presenting problems given by 10 mothers of children referred to a department of child and family psyc hiatry and their therapists. Video-recordings of therapists' pre-sessi on meetings and the initial therapy sessions were searched for explana tory statements. These statements were then coded. It was found that t herapists referred to past events, present circumstances, relationship s, and possible future events in their explanations of presenting prob lems significantly more frequently than mothers. It was rare for mothe rs to speak in terms of past or future events at all. The mothers expl ained difficulties in terms of character traits significantly more oft en than did the therapists. The implications of these findings are dis cussed.