The focus of Family therapy is on the family as a unit and how the members relate to one another within the unit. The focus is on roles, interpersonal dynamics and communication between the members.
Structural Family therapy, propounded by Salvador Minuchin, suggests that the life History of a family is a succession of experiments in living. The model focuses on the patterns of interaction within the family which gives clues as to the basic structure and organization of the system. Structure in this context refers t the invisible set of functional demands that organize the way the family interact.
A family operates through repeated transactional patterns that regulate the behaviors of family members. Such patterns describe how, when and to whom family members relate. Families are governed by two general systems of constraint; the generic and the idiosyncratic.
The generic connotes a hierarchal system in which the parents have greater authority over the children. It operates under the notion of reciprocal and complementary functions discerned by labels applied to families indicating their roles and functions.
The idiosyncratic constraint suggest that rules and patterns may evolve but with time the reason for doing things in a particular way maybe lost. The rules and patterns are however retained and become part of the family structure.
Families, according to this model operate under subsystems namely spousal, parental, siblings and extended subsystem whose rule is hierarchical. The model insists in there being appropriate boundary between generations for the proper functioning of the family.
Therapy does not focus on problem solving because symptomatic behavior is viewed as a logical response in the family’s given structure. Changing the structure will help solve the problem and changing the structure maybe the main goal of therapy.
Experiential Family therapy proposed by Virginia Satir, on the other hand operates on the premise that families are balanced rule governed systems. Through the basic components of communication and self esteem, families provide a context for growth and development.
The cornerstone of this model is the primary survival triad. This triad includes the parents and child or children. According to Virginia Satir, each child acquires identity and self esteem to the constructive and destructive interaction characteristic of this triad.
Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/373541_structural-family-therapy-as-compared-to-experiential-satir-family-therapy#ixzz15CU8cvt3
This is a blog that I educate and express my opinions on some health and mental Health issues. Different therapies used in psychotherapy are also discussed.
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