Families can develop self-destructive routines so predictable that members seem to be following a script each coming in on cue as the plot unfolds. Such scripts can be altered, however, when therapists help clients learn to improvise new patterns of relating. This book presents an innovative approach to doing just that--incorporating into therapy elements of script theory and recent findings in attachment research, including those related to narrative. Developing a new attachment concept, "the secure family base," from which individuals can feel safe enough to explore and improvise new scripts, Byng-Hall shows how insecure relationship patterns can be changed both during and after therapy. Jargon-free and illustrated with detailed clinical case material, this book presents a comprehensive conceptual framework that illuminates the central issues of therapy practice with families, couples, children, and adults.

Part I: From Scripts to Improvisation. Secure Enough to Improvise. Nature of Scripts. Identification across Generations. Rewriting Family Scripts. A Case Example. Part II: Creating a Secure Family Base. Security in the Family. Therapy and Supervision as Secure Bases. Myths and Legends about Security. Resolving Care-Control Conflicts. Resolving Distance Conflicts. Positive Framing of Parenting Scripts. Part III: Re-editing Scripts in Changing Circumstances. Scripts in Formation of a New Family. Grieving Scripts. Disrupted Scripts: Breakup and Disability.