Components Of Structural Family Theory

Another concept views the Family as a Component of Society, this structural-functional theory addresses the family on a broader scale in terms of their contributions, needs and successes like other social systems (eg., educational and healthcare system (p.90, 2003).

Structural Family Therapy (SFT) is modality of therapy that was developed by Salvador Minuchin, focusing on problems within the family system. Minuchin combined his interests in systems and communication theory to develop his SFT model. SFT never views the family as dysfunctional but sees the family as a system that is trying to change the pattern of their relationships. The goal of SFT is to help families build on their strengths and develop new patterns, boundaries and hierarchies that facilitates growth. Minuchin believed that all families are structured, which is manifested in the ways that they respond to each other.

Structural family therapy is one of the many therapeutic interventions used with troubled families. The name isn’t an easy one to say, nor is it a type of therapy that is used often in Hollywood but structural family therapy is like most other types of family systems therapies under the psychological category. The different types of therapies have a larger view of family as a whole that lives and operates within a larger community, culture, and organization. The family system will thrive over time and make changes ideally. Most times a family is not able to get out of the hole it has placed itself in which turns out to be related to behavioral or mental health issues of one of its family members. Aside from keeping the focus on the individual family member’s mental stability, structural family therapy centers around the problems in the structure of the family, the issues in the way the family communicates. Structural family therapy refuses to maintain that the family’s communication, or transactions are the root of the problem, instead the family’s transactions encourage the issues within the family.

Structural Family Therapy (SFT) was developed by Salvador Munich. It is a method of psychotherapy that addresses the problems in the functioning within a family. SFT enhances emphasis on the homeostasis, subsystems, boundaries, and coalitions as they relate to the organization and functioning of a family. (Sommers-Flanagan, 2012) SFT concepts help understand that family is a structure made of subsystems and boundaries that work together in coalition. The general idea of a family’s structure can be obtained by observing each family member’s actions. Family structure is based on the family member’s different and repeated interactions that can establish lasting patterns and enhance expectations. (Sommers-Flanagan, 2012) The subsystems of a family perform different tasks per the family requirements. The family subsystems are based on gender, age group, role functions, and common interests. The subsystems can be spouses (wife and husband),

Structural family therapy works to organize the family, so the family members can be able to better deal with their own problems. The goal of this therapy is structural change. Within the family structural there is a process model which is where the pattern of conversation being. The reason why me and my group members choose this theory because there is a distance between the daughters and their mother and there is some conflict between the auntie and the mother as well. In the Scott family, in order to connect them back together is by letting each family members speak upon their problems so everyone can see the difference of their feelings and set boundaries among the members. Every family has a common structural goal, but the most important thing is the creation of the hierarchy. In the family, auntie Layla seem to be in charge instead of the mother because the Layla is playing the mother

When one member of the family experience change it also affects other members of the family as well. The structural family therapy will monitor the changes and provide members with feedback on how to communicate changes. According to Simon, (1995) enactment techniques models how the family should respond to one another in a healing relationship. The features of structural family therapy are derived from clinical experience with suffering families. Some of the key features involves: the family psychosocial systems, the responsibilities within the limited subsystem, the organization and hierarchically of the subsystems, and the compliance of the family group. The structure of the family shows how an individual participates and express the functions in a distinguishing subsystem. Perhaps, when an individual shows function within boundaries; therefore, a change have been accepted in a positive manner. The therapist is more likely to consider different types of family such as a single parenting or a divorce parenting subsystems. The structural approaches will focus on internal forces and environmental influences through new situations as they arise in the

Structural Family therapy is a technique of psychotherapy. Structural Family therapy addresses problems the effect the way a family functions. In structural Family therapy, therapists have to understand how the families functions and the rules within the family, this includes being able to map the relationships between the members in the family or the subsets of the family. The goal of structural family therapy is to stabilize the family into a healthier pattern. Valuation is an essential and ongoing part of structural family therapy. Instantly upon joining the family sometimes before meeting them, based on intake sheet information the therapist is forming hypotheses about the family’s structural arrangement.

If the family has more time, a more in-depth therapy such as Structural Family Therapy (SFT) would be beneficial. SFT, created by Salvador Minuchin, focuses on how families are organized and what rules govern their transactions. According to Minuchin, a family 's functionality is based on the how well they adapt to stressors (extra-familial, personal, and/or developmental) and their ensuing creation of subsystem boundaries. Minuchin believed that boundaries are characterized along a continuum from enmeshed to semi-diffuse, to permeable, to rigid (Lappin, 1988). Minuchin noted that the family subsystems - as discussed earlier - are characterized by a hierarchy of power, typically with the parental-subsystem at the top (Minuchin, Lee, & Simon, 1996). This

The basis of the approach is to challenge the family organization, which leads to symptom reduction because a new structure develops in the family, one with more functional interactional patterns (Minuchin

After reviewing the theories, I have chosen Family System theory to discuss how various factors may impact at different stages in the family lifecycle in a Singapore context. “Family systems theory grew out of the general systems theory, a conceptual framework developed in the 1960s by Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968), and family therapists applied these ideas to marriage and family as a system.” (Olson, 2003, p.71). He proposed that a system is characterized by the interactions of its components and the nonlinearity of those interactions. In the family cycle context, a family member is only a piece of the whole family and his dynamic interactions with his family and environment will determine his functionality as an

Structural family theory is a technique employed by social scientists that offers perspectives and tactics that strengthen and examine the familial unit (Walsh, 2014). Developed by Salvador Minuchin, structural family theory looks at the unspoken rules within a family and how they affect the organization of the unit. It is the job of the social worker to accurately identify the patterns, presented rules, and their effect on the family. Structural family theory encompasses many concepts; a few of them being, subsystems, boundaries, and rules. Subsystems refers to the functional, normal interactions and alliances between two or more members within a family system (Walsh,

However, it is not merely because I accidentally became exposed to the model as I found an internship that I come to favor this model over others that I have been learning about in this course. I like Structural Family Therapy because it is very relevant and practical with the families that I have encountered. For example, a major goal of Structural Family therapy is to help “families to identify and alter maladaptive family systems or interaction processes, such as transgenerational coalitions, scapegoating, triangulations, and so forth (Barkley, Guevremont, Anastopoulos, & Fletcher, 1992, p. 452). In my work as a family based therapist, it has been easy to observe that these dynamics are common in distressed families and I have seen how damaging they are to individuals and to the family as well. However, through Structural Family Therapy interventions such as enactments, unbalancing, intensity raising, these patterns can be shifted (Minuchin, & Fishman, 1981). Furthermore, Structural family therapy has been continuing to adapt to the challenges of the twenty-first century (McAdams et al, 2016) and that additionally makes it a very appealing model.

In the focus of assessment, both the Bowen and Structural models suggest an essential concentration on evaluation. Then again, both models are somewhat dissimilar in the assessment methodologies. The similarities between the Bowen model and the Structural model suggest they both regard the family structural unit as a point in theory and generational processes. Additionally, both theoretical concepts search for patterns. For example, the Bowenian counseling approach explores the intricate patterns and interactions of intergenerational behaviors amongst the family (Bowen Center for the Study of Family, 2018). However, the Structural family model examines patterns like the Bowen model does as behaviors that are emotional or mental. Therefore, considering such indicators versus the patterns of those that are generational. Interestingly, counselors use a directive approach with their clients as well as having established a familial therapeutic alliance as well as with the family expansion, which applies in both models (Karam et al., 2015).

Family Theory deals with multiple theories that applied to families and those situations that occurred whether it was a job, marriage, husband, or even having a baby. However; I will list a few of those mentioned in my class; Rational Choice and Social Exchange Theory, Symbolic Interaction, Life Coarse and Lifespan theory, and Conflict and critical Theory. The main theories that mostly happen in my Geno gram were life course and Rational Choice theory. In this paper I will write about the theories that applied to my family levels.

The idea that society functions in a manner similar to the human body is known as structural functionalism. Parsons saw society as a collection of multiple systems, each distinct, but working interdependently to form one cohesive entity. Much in the same way the human body works through the efforts of both its external and internal organs. Each system works to care for its particular sector of the body, contributing to its overall health and functioning. (Need to quote somebody here). Where the human body consists of the cardiovascular system, digestive system, respiratory system and skeletal system, just to name a few, our society functions through the work of the family, economy, government and religion. (Quote somebody). Each individual system and its workings have a direct impact on the rest of the body, for both good and bad; such is the same with society.