Definition extracted with permission from Simon, Fritz, et al, Family Process, Inc.: Language of Family Therapy: A Systemic Vocabulary and Source Book (Family Process Press Series)
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power
This is an often applied and frequently controversial concept in the field of family therapy. From a rigorously cybernetic point of view, power can be conceptualized as follows: A's power over B shows itself in A's ability to define a context in which a relatively lineal relationship between cause and effect is established (or represented) between A and B's behavior. This relationship can be limited in time or restricted to certain areas of relational complementarity.