Structural Family Therapy

Steps of structural family therapy

Structural Family Therapy - Join with the family - Map the underlying structure; intervening (unbalance) and transform an ineffective structure - Engage as coach - prescribe the course of action both inside and outside of room - Search for strength and adaptability - Watch for actions not verbal accounts - Reframe

5 characteristics of enmeshment in structural family therapy

Structural Family Therapy 1. A change in 1 person will reverberate through the family. 2. Boundaries can be easily crossed. 3. Inadequate performance in other subsystems. 4. No room for individual privacy. 5. Intense emotional reactivity.

What are 3 context assumptions in structural family therapy?

Structural Family Therapy 1. Context affects inner experience; 2. Change the context and inner experience will change; 3. Therapist is a critical part of the context

4 psychosomatic patterns in families according to structural family therapy

Structural Family Therapy 1. Enmeshed family. 2. Overprotective family. 3. Rigid family. 4. Lack of conflict resolution family.

In structural family therapy, what do you look for when assessing families?

Structural Family Therapy 1. Family hierarchy 2. Sybsystem functionality 3. Alignments and coalitions 4. Permeability of current boundaries 5. Flexibility or rigidity

In structural family therapy, what 3 things are at the root of change?

Structural Family Therapy 1. Family rules and realignments 2. Patterns that support undesirable behavior 3. Sequences of interaction

3 characteristics of overprotective families in structural family therapy

Structural Family Therapy 1. Over-nurturing. 2. No Autonomy in Children. 3. Child manufactures symptoms as a way of protecting adults.

Describe a healthy family in structural family therapy terms

Structural Family Therapy Although there are no normal families, and all families have problems, an ideal family has a hierarchy of subsystems in which the parents are in charge and a spousal subsystem in which there is mutual give and take

Discuss complimentarity in structural family therapy terms

Structural Family Therapy Complimentarity (according to Bateson) used by Minuchin The concept of marital complimentarity has been used to describe dyadic relationship patterns in which an individual's behavior and coping strategies differ from that of their spouse, but the two styles or patterns of behavior fit together in a dynamic equilibrium or active balance with one another

In structural family therapy, 3 characteristics of psychosomatic families

Structural Family Therapy Enmeshment is common; Subsystems function poorly; Diffused boundaries between family members = no individuation.

Describe "functional" in structural family therapy terms

Structural Family Therapy Function is determined by how families cope with specific events and life cycle changes through appropriate changes in structure; flexibility.

In structural family therapy, what is the main characteristic of a rigid family?

Structural Family Therapy Parents won't allow child to go through developmental stages.

Goal of structural family therapy

Structural Family Therapy Release the family members from their stereotyped roles and functions so the system can mobilize resources, create an effective hierarchical structure. Change of structure is key.

Process of structural family therapy

Structural Family Therapy - Join and assume leadership, accommodating (ttherapist behaves in ways similar to family. Pacing and idiosyncracies) - Assess family structure and interactions - Monitor family dysfunctional sets - Restructure transactional patterns