Invitations to Change

In Invitations to Change: How Therapy, Meditation, and Neurobiology Shape Your Life, author Jon Winek describes a theory of change based on an integration of postmodern systemic family therapy, neuroscience, and mindfulness. The book helps readers understand the ways in which therapeutic conversations give rise to change in clients’ lives.

Based on Dr. Winek’s experience teaching family therapy and supervision, as well as his extensive practice in systemic psychotherapy, the book helps future counselors view therapy as a series of “invitations” that encourage their clients to consider new paths and do things differently. The shift in perspective implies that the client is a free agent, free to accept, reject, or modify such an invitation to change. The text encourages engaging clients in conversations that can improve their relationships with others and their environment.

The book describes how changes in thinking and feeling can lead to changes in behavior, and vice versa; how the frames of reference clients bring into therapy can shape their perception of therapeutic reality; how models of psychotherapy have inspired and influenced Winek’s model of change; how to encourage clients to access imagination; and more.

Invitations to Change presents readers with an innovative, empathetic, and research-driven approach to therapy. It is an exemplary textbook for courses and programs in counseling, psychotherapy, and family therapy, especially those with emphasis in neuroscience.