1. ACKERMAN, N. W. The Psychodynamics of Family Life. New York, Basic Books, 1958. —the original, definitive textbook in the area of family theory.
2. ACKERMAN, N. W. Treating the Troubled Family. New York, Basic Books, 1966. —a more recent work directed more towards issues of therapy than towards basic family theory.
3. ADAMS, P. L. “Functions of the Lower-Class Partial Family”. Amer. J. Psychiat. 730: 200–03, 1973. —clear description of effects of social class on family function. Compares complete and partial (i.e. fatherless) lower-class families as to physical health, social control, status, acceptance of the prevailing culture by the children, emotional maintenance.
4. BANK, S., and KAHN, M. D. “Sisterhood-Brotherhood Is Powerful: Sibling Sub-Systems and Family Therapy”. Fam. Process. 14: 311–38, 1975. —many patterns of family behaviour and aspects of individual development result from autonomous activities within the sibling subsystem. Suggests that understanding sibling sub-system structure and dynamics can lead to more flexible therapeutic interventions.
5. BARTEN, H. H., and BARTEN, S. S. Children and Their Parents in Brief Therapy. New York, Behavioral Publications, 1973. —illustrates how to “think deeply but act superficially” in dealing with the family in crisis.