In this book Harlene Anderson develops a model of psychotherapy in opposition to the "modern" model that she sees as hierarchical, directive, monological, and based on a mechanical view of social systems, proposing instead a "postmodern" perspective that is, by contrast, egalitarian, participatory, dialogical, and based on the view that social activity is formed by and through language in mutual interactions that constitute more or less meaningful "conversations." Traditional therapy, including family systems therapy, privileges the therapist as expert, authority, and intervener; the proposed conversational model asks the therapist simply to participate in a conversation with the client(s) in order to allow for an open-ended, interactive process instead of a closed one, so that new conversational possibilities can emerge and thereby give the client new possible ways of narrating his/her story. In this model of the therapeutic process "the goal is not to take charge or intervene. The goal is to facilitate dialogue, and through dialogue, create optimal opportunities for newness in meanings, narratives, behaviors, feelings and emotions" (pp. 97-98).
One of the assumptions upon which this philosophy of therapy rests is that the chief expert on the client is the client, not the therapist. The therapist is, therefore, there not to alter the client's story by interpreting on the basis of some theory or other, but rather to be an open, interested, and responsive listener, who asks questions out of genuine curiosity to hear and understand the client's point of view. When there are many people in a session, the goal is not neutrality but rather "multipartiality," in which the therapist makes sure that no one participant's story dominates to the exclusion of others', and all points of view are given a fair and open hearing. In this way, the therapist can open new possibilities in a previously deadlocked family system, or create the conditions for a new "internal dialogue" in a single client.
The "expertise" the therapist brings to the session, then, is not technical or theoretical know-how but rather an attitude formed by a combination of experience in this kind of activity, and an intentional (though not "acted") effort to be "open, genuine, appreciative, respectful, inviting, collaborative, cooperative, and egalitarian" (p. 107). Anderson's book gives some clinical examples of her therapeutic work, in addition to providing theoretical and philosophical grounding for her approach. She rallies numerous heavyweights to