Interaction Focused Therapy (IFT) is a problem-solving approach that places emphasis on understanding the nature of the contexts and relationships of which individual behavior is a part. The primary focus of attention is to what one can observe to be transpiring in the present moment in the interaction between the people involved regarding how problems or complaints develop and are perpetuated. Members of a family are viewed as only relatively independent and, whether they admit it or not, as continually responding to reflected appraisals from others in their family. Individual behavior, especially “symptomatic” behavior, becomes comprehensible when attention is focused on what is transpiring between people in the present moment of interaction.

Historical Context

IFT is grounded in communication theory set forth by the cultural anthropologist ...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles