School of Thought

Theoretical Foundations

Normal Family Development

Development of Problematic BX

Goals of Therapy

Therapy Assessment

Techniques

Minuchin

Family Structure refers to the organization within which family members interact/relate. All families have hierarchal structures but are also unique.  Family structure only becomes evident when one observes the interactions over time and possesses knowledge of a theory to explain the structure.

Families have subsystems who join together to form functions.  Every family member plays a part in numerous subsystems.  Covert coalitions are often more significant that obvious groupings. 

Boundaries serve to protect the autonomy of the family and its subsystems.  Rigid boundaries lead to disengagement which can cause isolation and lack of nurturing relationships. Diffuse boundaries lead to enmeshment which can stifle autonomy, independence, and relationships with others.

Healthy families are not absent of problems, but have functional family structures.  Adaptive families modify structure to accommodate to changing circumstances.  Dysfunctional families increase the rigidity of the structures that are no longer functional.  Boundaries must be adjusted within families and with others around them through changes such as marriage and children.  Structures have to becoming more executive at certain times of parenting and then change as development occurs, etc.

Difficulties arise in families when the family structure fails to adjust to the changing circumstances.  Extreme stressors play a large role in testing the family structure and its ability to cope with changes. These stressors can include divorce, job stressors, move, developmental issue with the child, retirement, empty nest, etc.. The failure may be a result of a faulty structure or an inability to adapt. (See symbols)

The goal is to alter the family structure so that the family can solve its own problems.  It is to create a structural change unique to the family’s problem and rigidity.  The therapist wants to help create an effective hierarchal structure with parents in charge and cohesive.  With enmeshed families the goal is to differentiate subsystems and strengthen boundaries.  With disengaged families the goal is to increase interactions and make boundaries permeable. 

Interviewing the entire family and observing patterns of enmeshment or disengagement through enactment.  It is also important to assess if someone outside the nuclear family may be a part of the structure. After then enactment the therapist may ask the family to modify the enactment to create new options.  Goals are to broaden the scope of the problem to the entire family, explore what may be perpetuating the problem, explores history, and bring family together to discuss alternatives.  

The therapist joins the family, they do not solve the problem, but helps the family modify its structure to solve the problem. 

1.Opening Phase

a. Joining and Accommodating

b. Working with interaction

c. mapping structural patterns

2. Focusing on the Structure

a. highlighting and modifying interactions

3. Transformation of structure

a. boundary making

f. unbalancing

g. reframing

Sometimes the therapist challenges the effectiveness of the structure and boundaries.  Other times they may focus on the parts that are working to join and accommodate.  Structural therapist will sometimes take sides if it is helpful to strengthen the family structure. 

School of Thought

Theoretical Foundations

Normal Family Development

Development of Problematic BX

Goals of Therapy

Therapy Assessment

Techniques

Whitaker

Satir

Napier

Keith

Schwartz

Greenberg

Jonshon

The central emphasis on experiential therapists is commitment to individual awareness and self-expression. Individuals should aim for personal fulfillment.  Families are viewed as groups of individuals not systems. Treatment is geared to facilitate emotional experiencing and help family members find a fulfilling role for themselves.  It is very unsystematic and offers little theoretical background.

Healthy families support individuals grow and permit and encourage a wide range of experiencing.  They allow for individuality and togetherness, and members are honest about their feelings and free to be themselves.  Parents facilitate development of healthy channels of self expression.  Dysfunctional families resist feelings and blunt emotional responsiveness.  Spontaneous experience is important for healthy family functioning.  It involves being in touch with the here and now.

 Problems occur when people suppress feelings and deny impulses that rob families of flexibility and vitality.  This renders people incapable of autonomy and real intimacy.  The root cause is alienation from experience.  Experiential therapists look beyond family member interactions and explore how things such as obesity, overwork, smoking, etc. my explain pathology.

The goal is to facilitate personal growth that includes increased personal integrity, greater freedom of choice, less dependence, and an expanded emotional experience.  Families are revitalized by authenticity so when one experiences personal freedom others will feel the effect.  When each person begins to experience growth it creates an environment of belongingness and freedom to individuate.

They are attempting to understand the defenses and barriers that keep people from experiencing the full range of their feelings.  They do not categorize or assess people, but they attempt to understand them in the here and now.

The therapists use evocative techniques that may include touch, roleplaying, and attention to non-verbals to create a personal therapeutic encounter.  They are attempting to promote emotional expression and expand experiencing.  Therapists are generally open, genuine, and very active. Some will utilize more structured techniques listed above, and others will use their own personalities.  Satir was known for use of touch with children to model various types.  Two newer forms are EFT and IFS. They tend to be more systematic.  EFT helps families get past their reactivity toward each other and focus more on the hurt feeling and desire for attachment. IFS identifies the reactive part of themselves and using visual imagery relaxes those parts to be more genuine.