The Strategic Dialogue

'The strategic dialogue, as defined by the authors, is in fact the synthesis of the evolution of ancient rhetoric and modern pragmatism in communication, the noble Art of Stratagems and the application of Ericksonian hypotheses to the clinical field. Further gratification derives from the fact that Giorgio Nardone has been able to develop new ideas and to put together further original therapeutic techniques, which render this work both innovative and seminal. The therapeutic power of the strategic dialogue resides in its "surprising essentiality" or, better, in guiding persons entrapped in their problems to come to discover the solution in a sort of natural and spontaneous evolution throughout the therapeutic conversation. This text is a "must read", not only for therapists, but also for all those interested in the study of communication and its therapeutic effects who, while going through its pages, will uncover a sort of "magical code".' - Paul Watzlawick, from the Preface 'Nardone and Salvini have written a ground-breaking and superb book which offers therapists a highly practical conversational framework for co- constructing change in the very first session with clients presenting with a wide range of serious and intractable difficulties. The brief therapy field has been in need of something fresh, innovative, and well-researched for some time and Nardone and Salvini have successfully provided that gift in their book The Strategic Dialogue. If you wish to read about a cutting-edge method for conducting effective brief therapy with even the most challenging clients, this book is for you!' - Matthew D. Selekman, MSW, Co-Director, Partners for Collaborative Solutions and author of Pathways to Change: Brief Therapy with Difficult Adolescents'Giorgio Nardone sets forth a liberating invitation to view every moment of a therapist's presence as an expression of influence. I applaud his recommendation for therapists to become more responsible and effective participants in the flow of therapeutic (that is, strategic) dialogue. The current state of psychotherapy needs this wake-up call!' - Bradford Keeney, PhD, Clinical Director, Center for Children and Families, Monroe, Louisiana, Professor, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco'Nardone and Salvini artfully describe essentials of brief psychotherapy in eminently practical terms. Their Strategic Dialogue has been proven in practice and research, and is applicable to a wide variety of clinical problems. The question is: will you utilize the strategic gems contained in this book intentionally, or will you discover in retrospect that you have used them because they are an elegant path to enduring change?' - Jeffrey K. Zeig, PhD, Director of The Milton Erickson Foundation 'Nardone offers the reader something precious and rare in the field of psychotherapy and personal change: explicit therapeutic goals that are carefully tailored to the dynamics of specific kinds of problems, and operationally-defined ways to reach those goals by reorienting the client's attention.' - Steve Andreas, Trainer, Consultant and Developer in Neuro-Linguistic Programming