Summary Of Structural Family Therapy

This family consists of Claudia (41), Hailey (38), Scott (16), Qingling (15), and Becca (12). Claudia and Hailey were married one year ago, and each brought children into their relationship. Scott is Hailey’s child, and Qingling and Becca are both Claudia’s children from a previous marriage. The family presented to therapy primarily because Becca has been “rebelling” and recently left home and did not return for a few days, until the police found her and brought her back home. The intake also mentioned that Scott does not get along well with Becca and Qingling, and that Claudia and Hailey would like to see their kids be friendlier with each other. In addition to difficulties with Becca, Qingling indicated on the intake that she is experiencing …show more content…
It is the therapist’s job to be direct with the family, and act like a leader in the room, while at the same time joining in with the family system (Lee, 2011). Unlike some theories that focus more on past events, or ones that operate under the belief that insight leads to new behaviors, structural therapists work with the idea that actions (spontaneous or directed) lead to new experiences, which then lead to insight (Lee, 2011). Because of this, in sessions I will focus more on directing change than on gaining a deep understanding of how the current family dynamics came to be. Essentially, my job as therapist for this family is to have them interact with each other in ways that shake up the current structure and family dynamics, and by doing so hopefully allow family members to see alternative ways of interacting and realize their own responsibility for the problems and manage their behaviors that add to the issue. (Lee, 2011). To create change over the course of therapy, I will work with the family to understand their own worldview and then join them as a constructor to help change that worldview to include possible alternatives (Minuchin & Fishman, 1981). To do this effectively, I will use their own metaphors, language, and rules to help …show more content…
In order to join, I would work to use their particular vocabulary around the family and incorporate their speech into my own assessment (Lee, 2011). To make sure I understand the current boundaries and systems at play, I would also make a structural assessment of the family to make sure I understand what kind of system I am working with, and what types of changes need to be made (Minuchin, Nichols, & Lee, 2006). After joining and assessing, I would want to draw the attention and blame away from Becca. To do that, I would ask other family members how their own behaviors and interactions with others are contributing to the problem. This way, I can open up the issue to include family interactions as a whole, not just Becca’s individual behaviors (Minuchin & Fishman, 1981). By reframing the problem as one at a systematic level and not an individual level, hopefully others will see the part they play in maintaining it and stop thinking solely of Becca as having the issue (Minuchin & Fishman,