VI Classic Schools of Family Therapy Part 2

VI. Classic Schools of Family Therapy, Part 2 Power Point presentation prepared by Leslie Barnes-Young, Ph. D, Francis Marion University “This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: • any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; • preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; • any rental, lease, or lending of program. ” Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003

Structural Family Therapy • Associated with Salvador Minuchin. • Focused on the balance between stability & change, openness & closedness. • Its efficacy has been demonstrated with a wide variety of family configurations. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003

Structural Family Therapy: Basic Concepts • Familial patterns of interaction define the structure & organization of the system. • Three subsystems (spousal, parental, and sibling) must have appropriate boundaries around them. • Dysfunctional boundaries may be rigid, allowing little information in or out, or diffuse, allowing too much information in or out. • Clear boundaries are firm yet flexible. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003

Structural Family Therapy: Therapeutic Techniques • Structural maps visually represent boundaries and hierarchies between subsystems. • Therapist must join with the family to affect structural change. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003

Strategic Family Therapy • Associated with Jay Haley & the Milan group. • Views manipulation as an inevitable part of being in relationships. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003

Strategic Family Therapy: Basic Concepts • People behave in ways that are consistent with their conceptual frames; thus, change the way a problem is defined and you change the problem. • Families with symptomatic members lack access to alternative conceptual frameworks. • Thus, symptoms make sense given the context in which they occur. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003

Strategic Family Therapy: Therapeutic Techniques • Therapy is problem-focused. • Goal is to change conceptual frameworks. • Reframe: an intervention that takes the problem out of its old context and places it in a new one. – The new frame must be acceptable to the family. • Paradox: an intervention that calls for “more of the same. ” Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003

More info on structural & strategic family therapy is online: • http: //www. philafamily. com/ • http: //www. psychpage. com/learning/libr ary/counseling/strategic. html Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003