The problems that families have to deal with range from those that are part of the normative life processes, such as birth or leaving home, to those that distort the normative expectation, such as divorce or step-parenting, and those that are produced by the unexpected, such as accidents or chronic illnesses. In the course of their daily practice counsellors in a wide variety of caring agencies often meet with families and need to assist them in dealing with the problem or problems they face.

Eddy Street, himself a clinical psychologist working with families, places helping families within a traditional counselling framework and defines successful family counselling as a combination of a number of elements. It should be in keeping with a family's strengths and style, offer empathic listening to each family member, maintain a perspective of the changing nature of family life, focus on clear and open communication, and deal in a problem-solving manner with the task in hand.

He takes the reader step by step through these elements, outlining the skills necessary to undertake family counselling, and provides a clear understanding of the processes families have to go through in order to deal with the tasks that are set for them.