Week 2 6650

Running head: WK-4-ASSIGNMENT 1

WK-4-ASSIGNMENT 2

WK-4-Assignment

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WK-4-Assignment

Introduction

Family therapy plays an essential role during psychotherapy, which seeks to instigate relevant changes for the well-being of families. Several approaches, such as structural family therapy and strategic family therapy, focus on the hierarchical organization of a family. Although the two therapeutic approaches may have several similarities, mostly, both methods are characterized by different theories and applications.

Strategic Family Therapy

Strategic family therapy is a therapeutic approach that aims to deal with particular challenges that can be dealt with in a short time. The approach seeks to use the client's daily activities and the environment as the base of their treatment (Covelman & Brown, 2018). Based on this therapeutic approach, one’s challenges can be attributed to pressures and stress put on them by their family members, peers, and society. More so, people may use words and actions that may affect other persons and cause them to have a dysfunction, which will cause problems in their lives (Minuchin, 2018). As such, strategic family therapy seeks to offer solutions by dealing with the causes of the problem. In essence, family members are involved in helping the victim overcome the challenges by eliminating any possible unfavorable conditions.

Structural Family Therapy

The therapeutic approach focuses on the family's organization and tends to regulate how family members interact. Structural family therapy seeks to change the perceptions of family members and help them identify and treat prevalent dysfunctions. It involves whereby therapists analyze the behaviors and interactions of family members (Minuchin, 2018). He or she will then help establish new structures and dynamics to create a more efficient structural family function (Minuchin, 2018). The approach seeks to deal with dysfunctions by the interaction between family members.

Comparison of the Two Models

Notably, both structural and strategic therapeutic approaches seek to ensure behavioral change. More so, the two models are aimed at improving communication and elimination of any dysfunctions that may exist in the interactions between family members. In this regard, the main objective of the two approaches is to get rid of maladaptive practices that negatively impact individuals and their family members. Nevertheless, the two models use different techniques to diagnose and solve family problems

Differences and Weakness of the Two Models

The main difference between the two therapeutic approaches is that their implementation involves the use of different approaches and techniques. Covelman and Brown (2018) state that structural family therapy seeks to ensure that changes are achieved in dysfunctional families. However, the model is often criticized for not taking into consideration the basic family structures of nuclear families. Strategic family therapy is based on a relational approach to ensure changes are achieved in family structures (Covelman & Brown, 2018). One of the major weaknesses of the approach is that it is narrow and tends to limit how family members interact with each other.

Example of a family in practicum using a structural family map

Image 1: Structure of a dysfunctional family (Short, 2005)

The structure above illustrates a dysfunction between parents and child. The multiple lines are used to demonstrate how there is a tendency of over-involvement, overprotectiveness, and enmeshment between the mother and daughter. There is a possibility that either one of them is taking care of the other. On the other hand, the structure portrays enmeshment in that the mother and daughter are distant from the father.

Recommendation of Therapy for the Family

One of the main reasons for the father being distant is enmeshment between the mother and daughter. On the other hand, the enmeshment can be attributed to the fact that the father is distant. In this regard, a therapy that changes any part of the structure will bring the family closer. For example, a therapy that brings the daughter and mother together will mainly result in bringing the father and mother together.

References

Covelman, K., & Brown, N. (2018). Family Structure. In Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy (pp. 1-4). Springer, Cham.

Minuchin, S. (2018). Families and family therapy. Routledge.

Short, R. R. (2005). Structural family therapy and consultative practice in organizations. Journal of Consultation.