The symptom is never only individual

One of the central ideas of this model is that the symptom is never merely an individual problem. It has a relational function. It expresses suffering, of course, but it also takes part in regulating the family system. In other words, what makes the family suffer may also, in a certain way, help to maintain its stability. That is why the Rome school takes such an interest in the question of homeostasis: that movement by which a system seeks to preserve its balance, sometimes even at the cost of great rigidity.

Seen this way, the symptom can be understood as a warning signal, but also as an attempt at change that remains a prisoner of the system’s old rules. A family may then come to consultation with a paradoxical request: it wants something to change, while deeply fearing that this change might endanger its identity, its bonds or its implicit balances.

Three emblematic techniques

It is precisely within this framework that several emblematic techniques of the Rome school take on their meaning. They are powerful, sometimes disconcerting, and always call for a great deal of finesse, caution and humanity in their use.

Therapeutic provocation

It is never a matter of provoking the person themselves, but of provoking the function of the symptom. The therapist then names, sometimes in a deliberately heightened way, the relational logic that is playing out in front of everyone. In a family where a teenager stays silent while a parent speaks in their place, the therapist might for instance underline this pattern by explicitly asking the young person to remain silent so that the parent can go on organising everything. Well conducted, this intervention makes the rigidity of the system visible. Badly conducted, it can become hurtful. The whole difference lies in the quality of the therapeutic alliance and in the subtlety of the stance.

Amplification

Here, the therapist pushes a dynamic that is already present slightly further so that it appears more clearly. They may stage, almost dramatise, a family interaction so that everyone sees more plainly what usually repeats itself without ever being named. Amplification makes the relational organisation of the symptom perceptible. It sometimes has an almost comic dimension, not in order to ridicule the family, but to introduce a shift that opens up reflection.

Strategic denial

It consists, paradoxically, in not validating observed progress or change too quickly. If a family comes back to a session explaining that things are much better, the therapist may adopt a position of withdrawal and cautiously play down the idea of a change already achieved. This type of intervention aims to protect a change that is still fragile. Indeed, when a system is afraid of evolving, celebrating improvement too soon can sometimes reactivate its defences and trigger a step backwards. Strategic denial then prevents the emerging change from being attacked too early by the system itself.

Supporting resistances rather than fighting them

These three techniques illustrate the clinical intelligence of the Rome school well: instead of fighting resistances head-on, it seeks to understand them, to accompany them, and sometimes even to use them as a foothold for transforming the system. Non-change is not treated as a pathological obstacle; it is recognised as an attempt at survival. This is why the Rome school therapist is at once engaged, authentic, directive and unpredictable. They do not merely seek to correct behaviours, but to alter the implicit rules that organise relationships.

That is doubtless this current’s major contribution, and the reason why it continues to shed light on our work with families. The full presentation of this model — in French — can be watched below.