Re: Mind-expanding reading list LO3624

Matzdorf, Fides (F.Matzdorf@shu.ac.uk)
Fri, 03 Nov 95 16:24:00 GMT

Replying to LO3597 --

David Patrick Ryan mentioned

>Paul Watslavick (1974?) The Pragmatics of Human Communication
>A different look at communicative behavior

It was actually written by Watzlawick/Beavin/Jackson, and, I think,
published in 1968 or 69. And David's mentioning of this book reminded me
of another one, which has not been mentioned here yet, although it should
be of vital importance for this list:

Watzlawick/Weakland/Fisch, Change, 1972 (?)

It picks up Bateson's idea of second-order change and elaborates on it.
Lately, I have been musing on the parallels between psychotherapy and
organisational change - I wonder whether Watzlawick et al.'s 'paradoxical
interventions', i.e. symptom prescriptions, could actually be a means of
facilitating change in organisations - a method that consultants could
work with. On the other hand, it could be too dodgy...

Fides

--
Sheffield Hallam University
F.Matzdorf@SHU.AC.UK