The Family Systems Theory
Introduction
People do not exist in a vacuum. They live, play, go to school, and work with other people. Most anthropologists agree that, next to their peculiar tendency to think and use tools, one of the distinguishing characteristics of human beings is that they are social creatures. The social group that seems to be most universal and pervasive in the way it shapes human behavior is the family. For social workers, counselors, and psychologists, the growing awareness of the crucial impact of families on their clients has led to the development of family systems theory.
Family systems theory is more than a therapeutic technique. It is a philosophy that searches for the causes of behavior, not in the individual alone, but in the interactions …show more content…
These assumptions are diagramed in figure 1. The components and their relationship to the whole system are as follows:
Family structure consists of the descriptive characteristics of the family. This includes the nature of its membership and its cultural and ideological style. These characteristics are the input into the interactional system. They are the resources and the perception of the world that shape the way in which the family interacts.
Family interaction is the hub of the system. It is the process of interaction among family members that determines the rules by which the family is governed. This is the family’s level of cohesion, its adaptability, and its communication style. Finally, these interactions work together to serve individual members and collective family needs.
Family function is the output of the interactional system. Utilizing the resources available through its structure (input), the family interacts to produce responses that fulfill its needs.
The family life cycle introduces the element of change into the family system. As the family moves through time, developmental and non-developmental changes alter the family structure and/or the family’s needs. These, in turn, produce change in the way the family
People do not exist in a vacuum. They live, play, go to school, and work with other people. Most anthropologists agree that, next to their peculiar tendency to think and use tools, one of the distinguishing characteristics of human beings is that they are social creatures. The social group that seems to be most universal and pervasive in the way it shapes human behavior is the family. For social workers, counselors, and psychologists, the growing awareness of the crucial impact of families on their clients has led to the development of family systems theory.
Family systems theory is more than a therapeutic technique. It is a philosophy that searches for the causes of behavior, not in the individual alone, but in the interactions …show more content…
These assumptions are diagramed in figure 1. The components and their relationship to the whole system are as follows:
Family structure consists of the descriptive characteristics of the family. This includes the nature of its membership and its cultural and ideological style. These characteristics are the input into the interactional system. They are the resources and the perception of the world that shape the way in which the family interacts.
Family interaction is the hub of the system. It is the process of interaction among family members that determines the rules by which the family is governed. This is the family’s level of cohesion, its adaptability, and its communication style. Finally, these interactions work together to serve individual members and collective family needs.
Family function is the output of the interactional system. Utilizing the resources available through its structure (input), the family interacts to produce responses that fulfill its needs.
The family life cycle introduces the element of change into the family system. As the family moves through time, developmental and non-developmental changes alter the family structure and/or the family’s needs. These, in turn, produce change in the way the family