Preface<br >This book has grown out of our joint interest in the psychology of<br >the family. One of us comes from a background of social work with<br >special experience in marriage problems， the other who works in<br >psychoanalytical and family therapy is from a background of<br >medicine and psychiatry. Despite our difference in sex， generation<br >and professional discipline， we have found that we have many<br >views in common on the problems of individual development and<br >family dynamics. We have both developed a profound interest in<br >the unconscious network of feelings， attitudes， wishes， beliefs， long-<br >ings， fears and expectations， that link family members to each other<br >and to their past lives and past families. We share a psychodynamic<br >approach to personal developme~at and human relationships， and<br >have both been influenced in imtkgrtant ways by the work of the<br > ~ . ~ ~<br >Tavistock Chmc m London， where there has evolved during the<br >half-century of its existence， an identifiable psychoanalytic frame<br >of reference.<br > As well as being deeply involved in the practice of helping people<br >in psychological distress， we both have large commitments to<br >teaching and training. Hence this joint work is addressed to issues<br >which we have found important to us and of interest to our students.<br >We believe that it is of fundamental importance to many professions<br >to have an understanding of the complexities of the relationships<br >within families， and we are convinced that this and a readiness to<br >get in touch with the intensity and multiplicity of feelings within<br >the family is the essential prerequisite for intelligent and sensitive<br >intervention in the affairs of individuals and families.<br > Although the data upon which we base our understanding stems<br >from therapeutic situations， we are not addressing ourselves to the<br >topic of treatment， whether by individual or conjoint means. Our<br >concern is to attempt to describe aspects of the unfolding and<br >evolving cycle of the family. We also hope that what we have<br >written will be of interest to those who are not professionally<br >involved with families， but eager to understand better the under-<br >currents of feelings and relationships in their own lives， and those<br >of past and future generations.<br ><br >