Andersen, Tom

Name

Tom Andersen Ph.D. (1936–2007)

Introduction

Tom Andersen was a Norwegian psychiatrist, Professor of Social Psychiatry at the Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway, and he is recognized worldwide for the contribution that, with his colleagues, led him to the development of the Reflecting Team (RT). The RT is an approach that offers to the consultant a pluralistic view of meaning by inviting numerous interpretations rather than a correct view of what is happening to them. Tom Andersen was an inspiration both for the Norwegian Family Therapy Association and the International Family Therapy Association. He was a Board member of the Taos Institute.

Career

Tom Andersen started as a psychiatrist, but he was attracted to the ideas of Family Therapy that were critical of orthodox psychiatry. He disliked labels and to treat people as such. He and his colleagues were influenced by the ideas of Gregory Bateson, the physiotherapist Aadel Bülow-Hansen, Jay Haley,...