The purpose of this article is to bring together the work of Jurgen Ruesch, Gregory Bateson, Paul Watzlawick, and Jay Haley in order to reveal their combined contribution to a systemic understanding of communicative behavior. Emphasis is upon the interactional and circular pattern of human communication, rather than on the linear, or cause/effect,…

While the Hill Interaction Matrix was developed as a research instrument to assess interview process, it is also generally useful in any undertaking requiring the evaluation of verbal interaction and, hence, can be used as an aid in modifying communication in order to increase its therapeutic effect. The Hill Interaction Matrix with accompanying…