Within the medical professions, the notion of the family as the basic unit of medical care has attracted a wide following, especially from physicians committed to a psychosocial orientation. Collaborative family-oriented primary care rests on interaction between family physicians and family therapists or counselors. Fundamental to this view is the conviction that one cannot understand a patient's illness without knowing the social, emotional, and biological context in which he or she lives. In addition, the author provides a much-needed examination of the rationale for instituting this...