You did a good job pointing out the structural family therapy and the systems within the family structure. How structural family therapy understand a family system is when the family system is stabilized by each family members contribution to the family system as a whole. By each member’s contribution, the subsystems hierarchy is set and power or who is in charge is allocated within the appropriate individuals/subsystems. The subsystems they rely on each other and more is expected from one person than another (Becvar & Becvar,2013). So for example: A couple dates and a year later yet married. Six months after getting married the woman finds out she is pregnant and nine months later a child is born. There is now a shift in the family system. Roles are now set in place and the mother is the nurture and the father becomes the disciplinarian as the child…
Structural Family Therapy (SFT) is a method of psychotherapy developed by Salvador Minchin that focuses on the family dynamics. It is considered the most influential family therapy worldwide according to Stupart (2014). The primary purpose of the different approaches to the psychotherapy is to help people feel differently, and change their thinking and behavior (Stupart 2014). The goal of SFT is to join the family system in therapy to determine any dysfunctional relationships and how to heal them while reestablishing the family unity. This is achieved by simply by modifying the way the family interacting with other and by developing appropriate boundaries.…
This program is developed through a strategy of integrating theory, research, and practice. Although we are testing other theoretical paradigms at the Center for Family Studies, the focus of this article is on Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) and the interventions that emerged from this model. The BSFT framework is the result of a continuous interplay among theory, research, application at several levels (Coatsworth, Szapocznik, Kurtines, & Santisteban, 1997; Szapocznik, Kurtines, & Santisteban, 1994; Szapocznik et al., 1997; Szapocznik, Kurtines, Santisteban, & Rio,…
Lebow, J. (2014). Stages of therapy: Engagement, assessment, and termination. In , Couple and family therapy: An integrative map of the territory (pp. 151-170). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/14255-007…
Dr. Murray Bowen (1913-1990) was trained as a psychiatrist and originally treated patients using the psychoanalytic model. In the late 1940’s, he began to involve mothers in the therapeutic plan for schizophrenic patients. Originally practicing at the Menninger Clinic, he moved to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIHM) in 1954. During this transition, he started to view patients as part of a family system rather than as individuals. As he continued to practice, Dr. Bowen…
Understanding how a family works and interacts is the key objective of a therapist. In…
Solution-focused therapy (SFT) is an outcome-oriented, competence based approach which originally developed as a short-term psychotherapy technique. Solution focused therapy was created at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1979 by Steve De Shazer, Insoo Kim Berg, and colleagues. Steve de Shazer worked at Palo Alto so solution focused therapy was strongly influenced by the MRI approach. Another primary founder of the solution focused approach, Insoo Kim Berg applied theory to a variety of problems such as alcoholism, marital therapy, and family-based services to the poor. Michele Weiner-Davis was trained by de Shazer. He applied the model to marital problems for couples who want to prevent divorce. He also wrote book…
Nichols, M. P. (2012). Family therapy: Concepts and methods. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ.: Pearson Education Inc.…
This research paper will in detail find influences donating to the degeneration of African American marriages, increase of African American divorces, and how structural family therapy can impact it. Structural Family Therapy was developed by Salvador Minuchin and his associates in the 1960s due to the growing curiosity in alternative ways of hypothesizing suffering and familial dilemmas. Structural family therapy is reinforced by an undoubtedly expressed model of family functioning, and has been developed and used reliably in counseling sessions for children and their families (Ginginch & Worthington, 2007, 343). Also, this report will examine what can be done to change this disturbing status amongst African American families. Monetary, emotional, and cognitive stability are a few of the common reasons and profits of marriage. Studies have discovered that marital couples in contrast to unattached couples are better-off, healthier, less stressed, and tend to live well into their mid-80s (Pindgerhughes, 2002, p. 269). Thus, there are numerous welfares of being married; it could be assumed that matrimony would be a shared objective for most citizens regardless of race. However, studies have publicized a radical deterioration of marriages inside the African…
As such, therapists may exercise bias in taking sides with one member of the family against others or may become too involved with keeping the family together more than the family members themselves (Corey, Corey & Callanan, 2006). The therapist’s role, however, is to assist couples and family members in seeing their actions clearly, help them explore and clarify their values and to help them make more honest assessments of how well their current patterns are working for them (Corey, Corey & Callanan,…
review of the literature, our research team met to discuss key factors relating to family therapy…
The therapist will help the family learn to communicate by modeling and many different exercises that will help them develop better communication skills. The structural approach is used when the family structure is out of balance. The family therapist will help align the family structure by establishing the roles and responsibilities of each family member. The family systems approach is used when the family is not working as a team, but as an individual entity. A family connection and boundaries must be set with the help of the therapist for this approach to be successful. The strategic family approach will help families develop rules and spread out the power within the family dynamic. The family therapist will also help a family work on a pattern of behavior that is appropriate for each family. A therapist will use tools from behavior therapy and behavior modification therapy with the social learning approach. This approach helps members of a family cope with issues and teach them basic skills in communicating, interacting, and behaving as a family unit. A family therapist will use the narrative approach when helping the family identify and describe their problems by comparing them to stories, fables, movies, etc. (Shearor, Horejsi, & Horejsi,…
For almost ninety years, marriage and family therapy continue to change in the United States. It is a thriving career with significant benefits. With all of the families and marriages broke apart over the years, having the ability to help would be so rewarding.…
Family therapy models and approaches aim to strengthen every member’s emotional health so the family can thrive. Providing support to family members can increase and promote long-term recovery.…
Being a family therapist is a rewarding job, but it also comes with many challenges. Families are consistently going through many changes and the therapist and the clients may not be at the same point in the family life cycle; this can at times lead to conflicts that the therapist is unable to avoid. In order to be an effective therapist you must be able to perform self-assessments and strive to continuously build yours skills. As a therapist in training, I am able to identify my strengths, which would be working with families that have a member that is developmentally disabled; families that are going through a divorce; and intergenerational families. I am also aware of my vulnerabilities which are dealing with families and death; and maintaining objectivity. I concept that I view as both a strength and a vulnerability is dealing with alcohol problems and the family dynamics. I would address the challenges that arise as a family therapist by attending to my personal family issues; and attending therapy sessions.…