Family nexus

A family nexus is a common viewpoint held and reinforced by the majority of family members. The term was coined by R. D. Laing, who believed that this nexus "exists only in so far as each person incarnates the nexus" Laing was particularly interested in schizophrenia, which he believed could be understood if seen from the viewpoint of the person concerned. He saw how a powerful family nexus could victimise one member, usually a child, who found themselves in the position of not being able to speak or even think the truth without being chastised by the group. The distortion involved in not going against the nexus can force wrong thinking - leading to "not being in reality", which Laing saw as the essence of schizophrenia. In the words of Charles Rycroft, the psychotic is "the overt casualty of a deeply concealed family tragedy...the end of his or her complex and complex interactions within the family" In such a situation, he considered that "mental illness" might be the outcome of a problematic configuration of a family. The closed nexus and the double bind are examples of how a closed nexus can block out any threats to its identity.