STRANGERS IN A FAMILIAR PLACE - THE EVOLUTION OF A FAMILY-THERAPY CLINIC WITHIN AN INPATIENT ADOLESCENT UNIT

This paper describes the evolution of a family therapy clinic within a n inpatient adolescent unit. The dilemmas of such an enterprise are de scribed in terms of the roles of its participants in relation to the ' host' unit. The authors propose that in order to maintain an appropria te boundary around the clinic, awareness of the 'membership roles' of the participants in essential. This concept, drawn from ethnographic r esearch, refers to the differing perspectives that members of the mult i-disciplinary team bring into the family therapy clinic from their ro les within the unit. The internal dynamics of the team are also descri bed by reference to team members' family of origin scripts which refle ct their membership roles. The authors believe that adding a membershi p role perspective to family therapy clinics which operate within inst itutions may enable such teams to contain difference and thus achieve creativity.