Introduction to ‘On getting unstuck’

Kirsten Dierolf

Abstract

On getting unstuck: some change-initiating tactics for getting the family moving’ is Steve de Shazer’s first published article. In the very first sentences we find him firmly rooted in the systemic ideas of the time. De Shazer speaks about “interventions which deliver a shock to the system and throw it out of equilibrium” as an “effective way to initiate change”(p. 19). The therapist’s task is to design this intervention using “ingenuity and creativity” (p. 26). The whole design and delivery is “a rewarding activity when the maneuver works as planned.” (p. 26). The seminal work “Change” by Watzlawick, Weakland and Fish was published in 1974 , the same year as “Getting Unstuck”. Interestingly, Steve de Shazer only met John Weakland in 1976, two years later. In “Getting Unstuck” Steve de Shazer follows the systemic theory developed at the MRI around that time: it is the task of the therapist to break into the “rigid system” (p.19) of unsuccessful solutions.

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