Books / Systemic & family
Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution
Paul Watzlawick, John H. Weakland and Richard Fisch’s Change, first published in 1974, presents a problem-focused account of persistence and change in psychotherapy.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Paul Watzlawick, John H. Weakland and Richard Fisch
Edition: 2011 paperback; first published in 1974
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Edition year: 2011
First published: 1974
Language and origin: English (United States)
ISBN: 9780393707069
Form and genre: Clinical & Theoretical Monograph
Level: Intermediate
Historical era: 1960–1979 · Humanistic, Cognitive & Systemic Turn
Covers: The authors’ account of persistence and change; Communication and problem-solving; Reframing and action-oriented approaches
APA 7th reference: Watzlawick, P., Weakland, J. H., & Fisch, R. (2011). Change: Principles of problem formation and problem resolution. W. W. Norton & Company. (Original work published 1974).
What it is
Change is a clinical and theoretical work by Watzlawick, Weakland and Fisch. A library catalogue records the 1974 first edition; Norton and a separate catalogue identify the selected ISBN as a 2011 paperback.
What it covers
The publisher describes a discussion of persistence and change using ideas from communication, family therapy, paradox and problem resolution. The authors’ account of attempted solutions is a model for understanding some problems, not proof that a person or family causes or maintains every symptom.
Research context
In a related 1974 article, Weakland and colleagues describe their brief-therapy approach and report on 97 cases. The abstract is a report by the treatment developers; it does not itself establish comparative effectiveness or outcomes for every setting.
Reading this record
The full book and full research report were not reviewed for this entry. Publisher descriptions and an article abstract are insufficient to establish universal causal or treatment claims.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: Brief Therapy: Focused Problem Resolution (John H. Weakland, Richard Fisch, Paul Watzlawick, and Arthur M. Bodin, 1974)
Reference: Weakland, J. H., Fisch, R., Watzlawick, P., & Bodin, A. M. (1974). Brief therapy: Focused problem resolution. Family Process, 13(2), 141–168.
The authors report outcomes for 97 cases in a 1974 article about the Brief Therapy Center. The abstract alone does not establish effects compared with another treatment.
Sources and inspection notes
W. W. Norton & Company. Change: Principles of problem formation and problem resolution.
Supports: Publisher lists the authors, the 2011 paperback and ISBN 9780393707069; description is not an independent outcome study.
Open Library. Change: Principles of problem formation and problem resolution, catalogue record.
Supports: Catalogue identifies the selected 2011 paperback as an updated edition of the 1974 work.
Supports: Abstract describes the approach and the authors’ report on 97 cases; full text not reviewed.