Strategic Therapy Essay

For this assignment, two different theoretical approaches will be discussed, Bowenian family therapy and structural family therapy, and they will be used individually to construct a treatment plan to help clients reach their goals. Within each treatment plan discussed, short-term and long-term goals of therapy will be established and the family’s presenting problems will be defined. Two techniques that will be assigned to help them reach their therapeutic goals and any expected outcome from using those techniques will be discussed.

The basic concepts of this type of therapy are boundaries, subsystems, complementary and alignments which are easily applied and grasped. The most important aspect the therapist must keep in perspective is that every family is made up of structure and that these structures are seen only when the members of the family interact. If the therapist does not consider the entire structure of the family and intervene in only one of the many subsystems are most likely not to attain a lasting change.

Family is something that plays a tremendous role in our life. Even though the structure of families has changed over the years, it is important to acknowledge that there many families out there whether they are traditional families, nuclear family, stepfamilies or others which tend to have different types of problems in their families. Therefore, many families attempt to go to family therapy in order for them to obtain help in solving the different types of issues they might have at home. As stated in the book Family Therapy by Michael P. Nichols (2013), “The power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interaction… What keeps people stuck in their inability to see their own participation in the problems that plague them. With eyes fixed firmly on what recalcitrant others are doing, it’s hard for most people to see the patterns that bind them together. The family therapist’s job is to give them a wake-up call” (2013).

Brief therapy helps people by focusing on solutions, instead of problems. The therapist asks questions thereby facilitates the client by helping formulates solutions. The client leads the meeting by actively formulating ideas in which he/she can serve to improve the client's negative circumstances. This is contrary to cognitive therapy, which focuses on a client's cognitive processes (how he or she thinks about people/places/things). The therapist collaborates with the client to help the client develop alternative solutions.

Most contemporary psychological treatment approaches are predecessors of the ancient and medieval philosophies and theories. Cognitive behavioural therapy as one of the modern treatment method in not an independently formed treatment, different theories have contributed to its present shape and application.

Gestalt therapy is a therapeutic approach in psychology that helped foster the humanistic theories of the 1950s and 1960s and that was, in turn, influenced by them. In Gestalt philosophy, the patient is seen as having better insight into himself or herself than the therapist does. Thus, the therapist guides the person on a self-directed path to awareness and refrains from interpreting the patient’s behaviors. Awareness comprises recognition of one’s responsibility for choices, self-knowledge, and ability to solve problems.

A few of the techniques explains to the client which technique words and what doesn’t in a family setting. In the beginning, it’s more about bringing out concerns more than something that may or may not be taking place in the household. Solution-Focused Therapy also focuses on goals and helpful strategies. The true purpose for this type of therapy is focusing on family strengths. One example of the solution-focused therapy is the formula first session task. This task is an example of showing the family what helps. Also, the counselor is constantly asking questions and doing observations to see how well things go when the family leaves therapy. Another example is the exception question. This is usually the counselor looking at the family and

Family therapy is a technique that has many alternative approaches to every aspect of treatment which Nichols (2014), states may present a challenge when describing a basic technique. The two models of family therapy in which I feel that I would be most effective and comfortable with would be, experiential family therapy and solution-focused brief therapy. I feel most comfortable with these models because, I adapt to the role of the therapist of both therapies naturally. According to Nichols (2014), when families seek therapy they are stuck in a life-cycle transition, sometimes they are obvious and sometimes they are not obvious. I’ve found that during the first session an excellent question is to ask the client why now so that they can

As stated by Madanes, strategic family therapy is organized in steps or stage to achieve goals. Madanes states that, “One set of goals for strategic family therapy is to help people past a crisis to the next stage of family life. These stages have been described by Haley (1973) as (1) the courtship period, (2) early marriage, (3) childbirth and dealing with the young, (4) middle marriage, (5) weaning parents from children, and (6) retirement age” (Madanes, 1981).

Haley and Madanes’ approach to strategic family therapy argues that change occurs through the process of the family carrying out assignments issued by the therapist. As described in Madanes’ Strategic Family Therapy (1981), “strategic therapists attempt to design a therapeutic strategy for each specific problem.” Therapists issue directives that are designed to shift the framework of the family to resolve the displaying problem. Treatment of these issues would include intense involvement, carefully planned interventions designed to reach clear goals, frequent use of therapist-generated directives or assignments, and paradoxical procedures.

therapy aims to improve family relations, and the family is encouraged to become a type of

Cognitive-behavioral family therapy provides many strengths for families. It also helps strengthen the relationship between couples that are married. Therapists treating couples who are married use strategies to improve the foundation of their marriage. In cognitive behavioral family therapy couples are taught to express themselves clearly and are taught new behaviors to improve communication and establish a solid union as partners. They are also taught strategies to solve marital problems and ways to maintain positive control. Toggle appreciable family therapy provides a number of treatment interventions for the family to improve their emotional regulation. An example of an intervention is the downward Arrow which helps families Express their feelings and the emotions behind them it allows them to express their emotions and understand them while projecting in a calm manner not leading to recrimination. Nichols 2014 says the greatest shape of behavior therapy is its insistence on its serving what happens and then measuring change 186. The goal of therapy is to help each family member recognize their distortions in thinking and improve and change their behaviors. A weakness of cognitive behavioral therapy is that the emotional state of a client may not be good even though their behavior changes. Nichols (2014) provides a good example of how a mother reports that her son is performing household chores however she feels as though her son does not really want to do the

The history of family therapy began around 1960, when Gregory Bateson coined the term, “system thinking.” This type of therapy was a daring departure, both technically and philosophically, from traditional and individual treatment during the 1960s. Gregory Bateson was inspired. He felt that the unit known, as “the family” needed to be celebrated and that is exactly what he did” (Family Therapy, 2010, Para 1) Along with Gregory Bateson, are a list of several others who contributed to the evolution of Marriage and family counseling. This list includes the founder of social work, Mary Richmond, Mr. W. James, who researched the organic expression of social systems intervention and Mr. J. Dewey. Each of these

The therapist will engage with developing the treatment plan. Each family member will participate and agree to the content in order to make it a collaborative effort and a family intervention. The plan will consist of three goals and two-three interventions based on Bowen family theory. The therapy will consist of twelve sessions and will meet weekly, in which Rosalyn and Carl will attend each session, while the children will attend three – twelve. If necessary, the therapist will assess the need to incorporate more private parent time.

This essay is intended to evaluate one therapeutic intervention or theory that may be used in Family therapy. The theory being examined is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or for short CBT. The essay will begin with defining CBT and discussing the underlying principles, techniques and concepts of the approach. Some practical examples and scenarios of utilizing CBT will then be explored. Then the essay will proceed to a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of this therapeutic intervention. Finally a conclusion regarding employing such techniques will be made.