Customer Reviews

Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Watzlawick and friends give a quick introduction into their ideas of the philosophy behind change and it why we sometimes have problems with it. They have taken Bateson's early work where he drew an analogy between Russell's logical types and the problems of communication between people.

I found the authors' excerpts from various therapy sessions to be quite interesting and they obviously have a great deal of practical experience in this type of therapy. Their overviews of the context of some patients also helps strengthen their ideas regarding problems, change and the reason we often have difficulty changing situations even though we would really like to.

The only shortcoming is the lack of ideas for accomplishing change. They present some possible avenues but after all of Wilber's books I think we could stand a new edition of this book that would encompass other methods of therapy. The authors also could have done a bit more work contextualizing their results based on the fact that they were involved in "brief" therapy - that is, they had a definite time limit on sessions with patients so they had to come up with different ideas.

Highly recommended.

Knowing the difference between first-order change, and second-order change can change your life! See if you can figure this out: "It obviously makes as difference whether we consider ourselves as pawns in a game whose rules we call reality or as players of the game who know that rules are 'real' only to the extent that we have created or accepted them, and that we can change them." This is pretty much what this book is about. And this, "When a person enters therapy, he is fully entrenched in a dilemma: what he wishes to attain has become all the more important and urgent ... and because of this urgency it is all the more important that no risk of falure be involved in the eventual action." Complex stuff. I read it once, and now I'm back to read it again. It's hard to absorb it all the first time even though you know you're reading some pretty radical stuff that you probably ought to be acting upon!

Over the last 15 years I have been involved with organizations undergoing major change. For all of those years I have tried to discover why change, that appears so essential to these companies, fails most of the time. I have searched for years for a logical answer.

I happend to notice the title of this book at a donated book sale at our local library.... I picked it and others up and proceeded to add it to the pile of books I would some day scan. On a long business flight I started to read this book.

I could not stop. As the authors laid out their ideas I covered the pages with notes.

Finaly a logical explanation of why change, even obviously necessary change, fails. Even more the begining of a method on how to make it work.

This is a great book on the mind. It shows us that we don't really need to know the mechanisms of things to make it work. Just like we don't have to know how a car works in order to drive it. The mind is the same way. Never mind the mechanisms it involves but if you do this and this, a person will do this and this. And surprisingly, although most of the suggestions are counterintuitive, most of the things discussed in the book actually work when we try it out on others. Try it and you will see! If you want to know why these things work, I'd suggest you read "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It is a very insightful book about relationships and consciousness. If you get the message, you will know why the things suggested in Watzlawick's books actually work. Happy reading!

The way we think and act, how we become fixed with certain patterns, how we often view ourselves and our world - all of these are analysed in this magnificent book. No pseudo-theories, just some of the brightest ideas I've ever come across.

Although I have seen this book referenced many times and read several summaries of its main tenets, I have only recently had the opportunity to read the entire book. I wish now that this book was required reading in my graduate counseling program because it is simply fantastic.

The authors start with an esoteric theory of groups, classes, games without end, etc., and then move into application through several interesting clinical examples. In short, the basic idea is that there are two approaches to change; the simplistic, commonsense approach, which often blows up in our faces, or a "second-order" type of change where the assumptions around the problem are questioned. The most serious difficulties we run into in life require second-order change, yet we often chase our tails trying to solve them with "commonsense" solutions that go nowhere. This book is a primer for approaching problems in new ways.

It is also a must read for counselors and coaches.

Gives a very stimulating view of how change can happen, how conflicts can be avoided, how we can learn to improve our interaction with people around us. Very useful also for people who don't actually work in the field of psychology. It would constitute a good read for organizations of any kind.

I picked up this book from my local public library on the recommendation of a friend about 12 years ago, and forgetting the author's names, have never been able to find it again, despite dilligent searching.

I consider it the most important psychological work I have ever read, with huge practical application...

Having just located it's details again after several hours of net-searching, I plan to go out and obtain a copy for my bookshelf ASAP.

As a foundation for identifying core problems in my own mind, in business, and in inter-personal relationships, the basic tools it provides have been invaluable for more than a decade...

Looking for to my second (and third and fourth) reads...

Written 34 years ago, "Change; Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution" addresses the significant topic of Change in a manner as relevant, if not more so, than it was when the book was first published.

This is not an easy book...it links the mathematical areas of Group Theory and Logical Types with different types of change...but it is well-worth the effort required to complete, understand and appreciate the book's messages.

Terms such as "framing" and "reframing" are central to the ideas put forth in this book...these terms are frequently used today in leadership training and development courses. In an era where terms and buzzwords change frequently, I view the longevity of such terms as a testament to the lasting relevance of this book and its messages.

I highly recommend this book to all readers. The book covers a topic...change...that intersects many areas of life. It is well worth a read.

Well, I don't know what happens in the field of psychology that people still don't recognize in a proper manner the incomensurable work this group of people have been doing (Watzlawick et al). First of all, for the didatic value of this book, secondly for the transforming insights that come trough reading it, and - but not least - for the kind of practic it ensues, I feel it is a book to be "discovered" yet, a book for the future of Psychology.