Elements of therapeutic communication

Paul Watzlawick

(1978, Norton paperback 1993)

I found this enlightening and fascinating and after reading it can agree with its opening sentence ''(The thesis of this book is simple; its practical application is not)i''.

Chapters are organised logically and each build to a conclusion, as does the book as a whole. Indeed each chapter resembles a self-contained essay on its subject. Two (out of the ten) essays constitute almost half the text (''Right-Hemispheric Language Patterns'')i and (''Blocking the left hemisphere'')i.

The book has an astonishing breadth of reference, from Plutarch's writing of Antiphon of Athens (480-411 bc) the inventor of the ''art of solace'' through Voltaire and Nietzsche to Bateson, Haley, Bandler and Grinder. One footnote re-tells Watzlawick's suspicion that Erickson and Don Juan (the teacher of Castenada) were the same person which Erickson ''(denied for once directly and not by telling a story)i''

Watzlawick describes the techniques in the book as unorthodox in its conclusion. That they will seem familiar to so many of us today pays tribute to the pioneers of the field and testament to their work.

An experienced and well read NLP practitioner will enjoy the differences in thought that Watzlawick brings to the subject of communicating for change and the insights this altered perspective can provide.

Though informative, a beginner might find this book much harder work.