[Systemic family therapy in a case of schizophrenic psychosis]

The treatment of the first onset of schizophrenia in a young woman is reported. Exploration of the family situation showed a disturbance in the development of the family organization according to the succession of stages of the "family life cycle". It took two individual and four family sessions within three months to overcome the threatening developmental "stalemate". The interventions used are discussed as to their aims, their "point of attack" and effect.