From General Laws To Singularities

This article comprises several sections. The first is devoted to an explanation of a number of notions stemming from work by Ilya Prigogine and others on open systems far from equilibrium. As a result of this work, I have been able to stand back from the traditional approach employed in family therapy, that of open systems at equilibrium (the theory of Ludwig von Bertalanffy). The second section describes a clinical example based on elements close to Prigogine's theories. In the third part I develop an approach that--although continuing to draw on Prigogine's work--is much more closely linked to the research I have carried out with Félix Guattari over recent years. In this part I attempt to study a level that, in my view, has too often been left outside the field of inquiry: that of couplings between "singularities" of members of the family system and the therapist. A clinical case is presented in which this "semiotic" level, as Guattari terms it, is used together with that of the "intrinsic rules" of the system. Finally, I propose a few avenues of inquiry and research on the basis of the concepts presented.     

Suicidal thoughts and their relationship to family stress and personal problems among high school seniors and college undergraduates

This study investigated the incidence of serious suicidal thoughts (ST's) among 207 high school seniors and 901 college students, and the relationship between ST's and family stress, drinking and drug-abuse problems, and delinquency in these groups. Over 10% of the high school and over 6% of the college students reported ST's. Those considering suicide attempts in both groups were more likely than their classmates to view their parents as having many conflicts with each other, to think of their relationship with their father as poor, to see at least one of their parents as either angry or depressed much of the time, and to perceive themselves as having a drinking or drug-abuse problem. These findings support the call for comprehensive counseling programs at both the high school and college levels.