Missing links: the use of enthymemes and their applications for family therapists

Abstract

The enthymeme is a rhetorical concept that has been defined in a number of ways throughout the ages. A review of these definitions creates space for a broad enthymematic concept based on the various descriptions, rather than on a limiting, "definitive" definition. A number of examples are offered--from the work of Milton Erickson on hypnosis and from nonhypnotic therapy sessions--that demonstrate the presence and usefulness of enthymemes in family therapy dialogue.