Features of Structural Family Therapy
Reference
Brown J. and Errington, L. (2019). Bowen Family Systems Theory in Christian Ministry.
Theory Concepts
Treatment Techniques
Role of the Therapist
Every family has a family structure whether it is organized or disorganized.
Coalition is an alliance between specific family members against a third member.
Detouring coalition is one in which a pair in the family holds a third family member responsible for their difficulties or conflicts with one another.
Stable coalition is a fixed and inflexible union that becomes a dominant part of the family's everyday functioning.
Subsystems are smaller units of the whole system both functional and emotional.
Spousal subsystem is a system where two individuals support and nurture each other
Parental subsystems is made up of those responsible for the care, protection, and socialization of children.
Cross-generational alliance (coalition) in a family contains members of two different generation within it.
Sibling subsystem is that unit within the family whose members are of the same generation.
Boundaries are the physical and psychological factors that separate people from on another and organize them in a family.
Clear: rules, give and receive corrective feedback, enchanced communication
Rigid: inflexible, power struggles, members separated from each other
Diffuse: not enough separation between family members, fused, diffused boundaries
Triangulation: children become involved in parents' conflictual interactions by taking sides, distracting parents, and carrying messages to avoid or minimize conflict between the parents.
Parentified children are given privleges and responsibilities that exceed what would be considered developmentally inconsistent with their age.
Alignments are the ways family members jin together or oppose one another in carrying out a family activity.
(1) roles: therapists need to understand the positions under which families are operating
(2) rules: explicit or implicit rules that the family functions by
(3) power: ability to get something done
Dysfunctional sets are the family reactions, developed in response to stress, that are repeated without modification whenever there is family conflict.
Joining is the process of coupling that occurs between the therapist and the family, leading to the development of the therapeutic system.
Tracking is when the therapist follows the content of the family.
Mimesis is when the therapist becomes like the family.
Confirmation of a family member involves using an affective word to reflect an expressed or unexpressed feeling of that family member.
Accommodation is when the therapist makes personal adjustments in order to achieve a therapeutic alliance.
Reframing involves changing a perception by explaining a situation from a different content.
Punctuation is the way a person describes a situation due to a selective perspective or emotional involvement in an event.
Unbalancing is a procedure by which the therapist supports an individual or subsystem against the rest of the family.
Enactment occurs when the therapist invites client-system members to interact directly with each other.
Working with spontaneous interaction is similar to being lighting expert who focuses the spotlight of attention on some particular behavior.
Boundary making
Intensity: using strong affect, repeated intervention, or prolonged pressure.
Restructuring: make the family more functional by altering the existing hierarchy and interaction patterns to that problems are not maintained.
Shaping competence: highlighting positive behaviors
Diagnose by describing the systemic interrelationships of all family members.
adding cognitive construction: advice, information, pragmatic fictions, and paradox.
Pragmatic fictions are pronouncements that help families and family members change.
Paradox is a confusing message meant to frustrate or confuse families and motivate them to search for alternatives.
Observer
Expert
Theater director
High energy
Precise timing
(1 phase) the therapist joins the family and takes a leadership position. (2 phase) the therapist mentally maps out the family’s underlying structure. (final phase) the therapist helps transform family structure
Praise, challenges, direct orders, and judgements