Structural Family Therapy Essay

The family system is founded on the notions that for change to occur in the life of an individual, the therapist must understand and work with the family as a whole. In working with the family, the therapist can understand how the individual in counseling functions within his family system and how the client’s behaviors connect to other people in the family. This theory also holds the perception that symptoms are a set of family habits and patterns passed down by generation and not a result of a psychological problem or an inability to change (Corey, 2017). Furthermore, the family system theory holds the idea that when a change occurs everyone in the unit is affected by the change.

The goal of Bowen’ theory is to review developmental patterns within the familial system and the stress centered around the anxiety caused by closeness or the lack thereof (Penny, 1999). Bowen’s theory works to facilitate a decline in stress and anxiety by enabling the clients with education as to how the emotional system works and focusing on how to modify self perceptional behaviors instead of working to change others within the system (Penny, 1999).

The movie Ordinary People is a movie which looks at a family struck by tragedy, It shows how an upper middle-class family handles life when tragedy strikes unexpectedly, and family order is turned into chaos. The movie in essence sheds light into a family, due to a tragedy, has turned into separate individuals living in the same house, who lack of communicating their grief effectively. The movie was shown through a realistic lens, without over dramatization; looked into misplaced guilt at every level. The inability of the family to work through the tragedies lead them to a place where they each felt a breakdown within each other as well as the family dynamic.

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.

Structural Family Therapy (SFT) has a few interventions within the theoretical model that I could see myself using with clients (families) from diverse backgrounds with diverse presenting problems. I am in agreement with the way this model looks at the different types of families and the types of issues they present with such as the patterns common to troubled families; some being "enmeshed," chaotic and tightly interconnected, while others are "disengaged," isolated and seemingly unrelated. This model also helped me understand that families are structured in "subsystems" with "boundaries," their members not seeing these complexities and problems that are going on

Structural Family Therapy (SFT) is an approach used in family therapy settings. In every family there are both strengths and weaknesses in how the family functions, this type of therapy focuses on the ability of families to move forward any dysfunctional issues they can encounter. In every family there has to be structure, a way of doing things, who is in charge and yet still be able to adapt to change when it is necessary or problems begin to occur, in order to repair and alter issues of dysfunction and reposition family boundaries, many therapists who use the structural family approach have the belief that the problems the family is experiencing “emerge in families when their boundaries (that define structures) are not clear and when

Like I said in the presentation, structural mapping is great to show clients where they are and how far they have come. Once people are on the path to change, sometimes they forget because they are just going. I think there is a lot of power to showing clients how far they have come in their progress of changing for the better. I took on the longest aspect of structural family therapy, and that was the techniques. I was surprised to find no pure structural family therapy model or research done in the last 9-10 years. I know that Dr. Darden talked about how Salvador Minchin’s structural family therapy was sexist and had lots of problems, which developed newer and revised models. But I also see how influential structural family therapy is because many research papers had the model as the foundation or had a

Structural Family Therapy (SFT) was invented by Salvador Minuchin while working with lower-socioeconomic-level Black families (Gladding, 2015). A main premise of the theory is that “an individual’s

In the Structural Family Therapy model, therapy is not focused solely on the individual, but upon the person within the family system (Colapinto, 1982; Minuchin, 1974). The major idea behind viewing the family in this way is that “an individual’s symptoms are best understood when examined in the context of the family interactional patterns,” (Gladding, 1998, p. 210). In SFT, there are two basic assumptions: 1) families possess the skills to solve their own problems; and 2) family members usually are acting with good intentions, and as such, no

Falicov, C.J., & Brudner-White, L. (1983). The shifting family triangle: The issue of cultural and

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

Bowenian family counseling approach presents similar aspects that range throughout various family counseling theories. One approach to family counseling that is similar to Bowenian theory is structural therapy. Structural family counseling focuses on habitual behaviors and the role individual’s play in relation to those behaviors (Bohlinger, n.d.). Bowenian therapy reviews a minimum of three generations to assess transgenerational patterns. Both therapies point out a form of boundaries, however, Bowenian therapy looks to differentiate individuals within a family group, as oppose to structural therapy, which desires to change, clarify, and mark boundaries within a family (Nelson, n.d.). Experimental therapy recognizes discord when togetherness and autonomy are not balanced, like Bowenian therapy (Bohlinger, n.d.). Like solution based and cognitive–behavioral therapy, the role of the Bowenian counselor is to teach and coach clients (Nelson, n.d.). Also, like Milan therapy, Bowenian therapists are to remain neutral and avoid taking side within the family (avoid triangles) (Nelson, n.d.). Like object-relations therapy, Bowenian therapy seeks to help clients differentiate themselves (Nelson, n.d.). Although the Bowenian concept presents several similarities to other approaches, there are numerous

There are interpersonal deficits in the family structure presented in the Structural family therapy video.

Systemic therapy was based on Minuchin’s Structural Therapy model (1968) followed by Bateson's cybernetic model (1972) The first order cybernetic model considerd that problems within a family system should be focused on by strategically solving problems, meeting family goals and help change a person's dysfunctional behaviour. D Shazer (1985). These concepts in Systemic therapy were known as the major paradigms and were taught by therapists such as Minuchin in Milan until the information-processing systems were introduced. They were characterized by the therapist's observation of the system from the external social world. Minuchin S & Fisherman,HC (1981)

In the strategic and structural family therapies, the therapist’s position was not extensively discussed. However, there has been an emphasis for the therapist to be respectful and empathic in session. For instance, a structural family therapist, in order to produce change, needs to first join with the family members. In joining, the therapist conveys acceptance and respect of family members and their ways of doing things. In this manner, the Milan group’s concept of neutrality is connected with the structural therapy’s concept of joining. The intent for both therapists is also to allow the family members to listen to each other’s stories. While in neutrality, it is a stance that is undertaken throughout the therapeutic process, the structural therapist may move into realigning the boundaries and restructuring the hierarchies in the family. To achieve that, the structural therapist may at times align with one family member. This is where neutrality ends for the structural therapist.