Levels of Analysis Paradigm

This book is a response to the conceptual crisis in clinical psychology. With over 250 psychotherapies, clinical psychology is a patchquilt that critically needs a theoretical thread to bind the patches together. Skurky proposes a model that views behavior as functioning simultaneously on the individual and systemic levels and provides psychotheraphy with a theoretical foundation. This approach focuses on human behavior as a holistic process and applies systems theory to individual functioning. This book offers some original and excellent ideas that can be a distinct contribution to working with couples and with members of families. These ideas might work well in actual practice and be quite helpful to many marital and family therapies. Albert Ellis, President, Institute for Rational-Emotive TherapyThe Levels of Analysis Paradigm is this author's response to the conceptual crisis in clinical psychology. With over 250 psychotherapies, clinical psychology is a patchquilt that critically needs a theoretical thread to bind the patches together. The author proposes a model that views behavior as functioning simultaneously on the individual and systemic levels and provides psychotherapy with a theoretical foundation. This approach focuses on human behavior as a holistic process and applies systems theory to individual functioning. The book gives a brief history of clinical psychology as a critique of alternate therapy approaches. The tripartite approach to psychotherapy is then presented together with practical applications and case studies.This monograph introduces practitioners and theorists to a new approach to clinical psychology . . . a model of individual and systemic therapy. Chapters cover: Conceptual Issues in Clinical Psychology; The Levels of Analysis Paradigm; The Tripartite Model of Individual and Systemic Therapy; Practical Applictions of the Tripartite Model; The Levels of Analysis Paradigm: Further Considerations.

"This book offers some original and excellent ideas that can be a distinct contribution to working with couples and with members of families. These ideas might work well in actual practice and be quite helpful to many marital and family therapies."-Albert Ellis, President, Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy

THOMAS A. SKURKY is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Fort Lewis College. His specialty is Developmental Clinical Psychology.