A theoretical framework for developing, describing and analyzing family‐therapeutic techniques involving make‐believe play is presented and illustrated by clinical examples. This theoretical framework includes specifications of the therapeutic goals served by the technique and its procedural details (the therapist's position and roles, the method of intervention, the sources of play content and means, and the amount of planning) and an analysis of its rationale (the properties of the make‐believe play involved, the targets of the intervention in the family system, the expected changes and their causes). This framework draws on a definition of the concept “make‐believe play,” a model for the analysis of make‐believe play symbols and a model of family systems, which are briefly sketched in this article, preceding the presentation of the theoretical fra