Running Head: STRUCTURAL FAMILY THERAPY 1
Structural Family Therapy
Coral Nichols
Liberty University
COUN 601
STRUCTURAL FAMILY THERAPY 2
Abstract
Structural Family Therapy (SFT) is a method of family therapy that was conceptualized by a man
name Salvador Minuchin. The model of structural family therapy is one of the many approaches
to family therapy. The family is the core element within the organization that grows; the family is
often in a state of transition as they develop through multiple life cycles that encounter problems.
This therapeutic approach to help the family move beyond the pattern of problem but into a place
of interaction and new behaviors that focus on the strength of the family. The conceptualization
of Structural Family Therapy will be discussed as well as the benefits and possible pitfalls that
this method of therapy can add to dynamic of family therapy. There have been some adaptions to
Structural Family Therapy in an attempt to modify and adapt to current methods of treatment.
Introduction
STRUCTURAL FAMILY THERAPY 3
A family is a unique dynamic that is faced with many different transitional periods that
can and often encounter problems as they go through life’s transitions. These life transitions
often bring a level of stress that effects the family as a whole. Stress alone can introduce
problems that arise, there are some problems depending on the family dynamic. A family
