Structural Family Therapy and Strategic Family Therapies
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StructuralFamilyTherapy.pptxStructural Family Therapy
Chapter 13
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Structural Family Therapy
Initially based on the experiences of Salvador Minuchin and his colleagues at the Wiltwyck School
Major thesis: Individual’s symptoms are best understood when examined in the context of family interactional patterns
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Major Theorists
Salvador Minuchin
Braulo Montalvo
Bernice Rosman
Harry Aponte
Charles Fishman
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Salvador Minuchin
Medical director of the Wiltwyck School
Director of the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic
Created the Institute for Family Counseling
Has written several books, including Families and Family Therapy and Mastering Family Therapy: Journeys of Growth and Transformation.
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Premises of the Theory
Every family has a family structure.
The structure is revealed only when the family is in action.
Structure influences families for better or worse.
Emphasizes the family as a whole, as well as interactions between subunits of family members.
Recognizes the potential for coalitions.
Stable coalition
Detouring coalition
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Premises of the Theory
A person’s symptoms are best understood as rooted in the context of family transaction patterns.
Subsystems, or small units of the system as a whole, exist to carry out various family tasks.
Spousal subsystem
Parental subsystem
Sibling subsystem
Boundaries, the physical and psychological factors that separate people from another and organize them, must be clear for healthy functioning
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Premises of the Theory
Boundaries, the physical and psychological factors that separate people from another and organize them, must be clear for healthy functioning
Strengths of boundaries represented in structural family mapping systems
Clear Boundaries
Rigid Boundaries
Diffuse Boundaries
Triangulation
Alignments
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Premises of the Theory
Roles – positions under which families operate
Rules – behaviors first developed may be adhered to regardless of the changes that have occurred within the family
Power – ability to get something done
Dysfunctional Sets – family reactions, developed in response to stress, that are repeated without modification whenever there is family conflict
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Treatment Techniques
Joining – “process of coupling that occurs between the therapist and the family, leading to the development of the therapeutic system” (Sauber et al., 1985, p. 95)
Tracking – following the content of the family
Mimesis – therapist becomes like the family
Confirmation of a family member – using an affective word to reflect an expressed or unexpressed feeling of that family member
Accommodation – adjustments made by the therapist to achieve a therapeutic alliance
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Treatment Techniques
Reframing – changing a perception by explaining a situation from a different context
Punctuation – the way a person describes a situation, that is, begins and ends a sentence, due to a selective perspective or emotional involvement in an event
Unbalancing – procedure by which the therapist supports an individual or subsystem against the rest of the family
Enactment – occurs when the therapist “invites client-system members to interact directly with each other (Simon, 2004, p. 260)
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Treatment Techniques
Working with Spontaneous Interaction – involves focusing the spotlight of attention on some particular behavior
Boundary Making – helping the family create appropriate boundaries between people and subsystems
Intensity – changing maladaptive transactions by using strong affect, repeated intervention, or prolonged pressure
Restructuring – helping the family make structural changes
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Treatment Techniques
Shaping Competence – helping families become more functional by highlighting positive behaviors
Diagnosing – describing the systemic interrelationships of all family members
Adding Cognitive Constructions – words to help families help themselves
Pragmatic fictions – pronouncements that help families and family members change
Paradox – confusing message meant to frustrate or confuse families and motivate them to search for alternatives
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Role of the Therapist
Observer
Active expert (Theater director)
Assumes responsibility for setting up dramatic scenes that show the family in action
Changes roles, based on circumstance
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Process and Outcome
Change occurs gradually yet steadily
Emphasizes action over insight
Families are given homework to do outside of the session
Successful treatment means that the overall structure of the family is altered and reorganized
It enables family members to relate to one another in a more functional and productive manner.
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Unique Aspects of the Theory
Its versatility
Its emphasis on terminology and ease of application
It helped make family therapy as a whole acceptable to medicine and psychiatry
Its emphasis on symptom removal and reorganization of the family
Its emphasis on pragmatism and problem-solving
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