Essay Example: Structural Family Therapy

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Introduction

The term “structural family therapy” (also known as “SFT”) refers to a mode of psychotherapy created by Salvador Minuchin that focuses on resolving issues with how a family unit functions. Many therapeutic approaches for problematic families, including such structural family therapy, have a unique tone and appearance and can appear to be quite conceptual.

This is not a technique that you are likely to see frequently in the media or in films, such as the more commonplace methods of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, nor is it a name that comes to mind immediately when you think of a therapy (Colapinto, 2021).

Critical Analysis of Structural Family therapy

According to Tadros et al. (2022), the role of the individual is de-emphasized in structural family therapy in favour of a focus on multiple subsystems and the restructuring of those subsystems to ensure that the structure of the family as well as the limits, patterns, and rules that govern the general functioning of the family are all fit and active for all members of the system. In order to better detect harmful patterns of behaviour, this therapy takes a holistic approach by concentrating on the entire family rather than on individual members of the family.

This is done on purpose in order to bring about change on a basic level, which will then bring about change on a second order. As per Negash et al., (2022), in most cases, there are unspoken norms, expectations, behaviours, roles, and hierarchies that members of the family are expected to conform to within the context of the family. In order to acquire a more in-depth understanding of the challenging behaviours, strategic therapists will integrate themselves into the family. Understanding the subsystems that make up the connections within the family allows for better behavioural observation.

Structural family psychologists will comprehend the family system by concentrating on limits, balance, and family rules, as well as the functioning components and how they interact with one another on an individual level as well as across the system. In order to obtain a better grasp of the areas of the system that aren’t functioning properly, this sort offamily therapists will examine the many dynamics of the family system in a methodical manner (Tsvieli et al., 2022).

According to Diamond et al. (2022), considering the parental subsystem, the sibling subsystem, and the couple subsystem exemplifies this emphasis on the system as a whole rather than on its individual components. All subsystems have a direct impact on the operating family system, and once the therapist becomes a part of the system, they will be better able to restructure it.

Once the therapist enters the family system, he or she is able to observe how the family operates and foster acceptance as a member of the system. After evaluating the structural components, the therapist will determine where the family’s functionality is lacking. Ultimately, the therapist will modify the family system to accommodate all participants’ present and future requirements (Concord, N/A).

Nevertheless, SFT is analogous to other therapies that fall under the psychological area of family systems therapy. The family is regarded in these types of therapies as a system that dwells and functions within more expansive systems, such as culture, society, and organisations. In a perfect world, this system would advance and grow over the course of time. However, there are times when a family is stuck in a rut, and it’s usually because one member of the family is struggling with their mental or behavioural health (Terache et al., 2022).

As per Sawrikar (2022), SFT, on the other hand, considers difficulties in the structure of the family, a malfunction in the way that the family communicates or operates, rather than concentrating on the pathology of the individual. Family factors, or “transactions,” are not what create the illness, but rather SFT claims that the family’s conversations encourage or foster the illness’ symptoms. It is a fundamental premise of structural therapy that the therapist must collaborate with the client’s family members in order to achieve success in therapy.

Adaptation and joining are two of the therapist’s go-to strategies for achieving this. By providing encouragement and support for what is working within the family and assisting in the development of new structures that will work, the therapist hopes to aid the family’s overall functioning, while also documenting and reflecting back to the family members how they express themselves and the range of emotions they are experiencing (Long, 2022).

The term “joining” refers to the actions taken by the therapist that are particularly focused on developing bonds with the patient’s family members. In order to avoid appearing to take a side, the therapist should be conscious of this and be prepared to offer support to the patient during times when the individual is engaged in conflict. This recognition that the therapeutic connection has the ability to act as a catalyst for transformation is reflected in the emphasis placed on the importance of the therapeutic connection. Suppes (2022) claims that psychotherapists that specialise in structural analysis examine the structure of the family in search of regions that demonstrate resilience as well as adaptability, flexibility, and change

White & Owen (2022) critically explains that feminists and those engaged with issues of race and ethnicity criticised structural therapy, as they did most other schools of family therapy, in the 1980s. Female-informed critiques of family theory and therapists focused on the question of power and its influence on relatedness between generations, but did not address the problem of power dynamics that might arise in relationships between members of the same generation, such as those that exist in between mother and her daughter or between a father and his son. It should be mentioned that while though a power imbalance in the relationship between the couple was thought to be more likely to generate widespread discomfort and overall troubles in the family, it did cause some problems (Ryland et al., 2022).

An increasing corpus of demographic data at the same time as the emergence of the gender-informed critique revealed alarmingly high rates of physical aggression committed by men against the women they were romantically involved with. This was a significant oversight throughout the industry, and it has only very recently been corrected.

The structural family therapy approach has been met with opposition from a variety of different directions. It has been argued that the method of assessment is flawed since it focuses primarily on the domestic family group, disregards the responsibilities of extended family, neighbourhood, and other social institutions, and as a result, provides an insufficient picture of the issues that are being presented (Iturra, 2022). Because there is nothing in the theoretical language or model that precludes assessment of bigger systemic difficulties in the therapist’s formulation, in this particular instance, I believe that the problem rests more in the therapeutic approach of the concepts than it does in the concepts themselves. As a consequence of this, the problem is most likely attributable to the implementation of the principles on a more local level (Bermea et al., 2022).

As a result of concerns around therapist burnout, the direct and engaged therapeutic approach that is utilised by structural therapists is not well received in the United Kingdom. The initial overzealousness that surrounded the therapist in their role as the leader and manager of the therapy has resulted in a more moderate approach to the identification and development of structural therapist styles.

Research conducted by Tadros & Durante (2022) has shed light on how crucial it is for the emotional style of the therapist to be compatible with that of the family members being treated.

VanBergen & Love (2022) critically explains that constructivism and social constructionism have had a significant impact on how we think about our own a priori beliefs about families and cultural norms, as well as our greater pursuit of theory integration. Constructivism and social constructionism both emphasise therapist reflexivity. Postmodern criticisms, which emphasise the importance of indeterminacy and uniqueness, carry the risk of injustice by presuming that abuse and structural inequalities can be viewed as just one narrative amongst many others (Hogue et al., 2022).

It is possible that a large number of therapists are looking for ways to integrate their practises not only across the many psychological subfields but even within the field of family therapy. As a consequence of this, the structural focus on the here and now in the explanation of the symptom and the desire to alleviate the symptom limits the capacity to explain and predict symptomatic behaviour, and it may motivate the therapist to look for alternate models that address these challenges (Ramaswami et al., 2022).

 

However, until well-articulated efforts are made to integrate theory at the conceptual level, this issue will continue to be a problem of application and practise. A growing number of therapists appear to be more concerned in obtaining multiple perspectives on family members’ behaviour and overall functioning rather than loyally following “schools” in their approach to families.

As per Mohammadi Zarghan et al. (2022), the structural concept of problem persistence and the supposed role of symptomatic behaviour have been another set of problems. Structural thinking has long held that the problem is what keeps the system in motion, and that pathological behaviour is frequently the ironic result of attempts to fix problems and adapt.

Thinking from a structural perspective These critics claim the grammar fails to take into account the functional significance of symptomatic behaviour within the family or that structural therapists may find dysfunction where there is none exists, effectively idling the family (Huft, 2022). However, the premise of resilience may not be fulfilled in practise, especially in more fragile family structures such as freshly formed stepfamily arrangements, which may offset this criticism.

Conclusion

The basic model known as Structural Family Theory, often known as SFT, is an approach to family therapy that is believed to be one of a kind. It evolved from a systemic foundation to become an influential factor in family therapy practise. Structural family therapists collaborate with families to modify dysfunctional family structures in order to assist members of the family in learning how to find solutions to their issues in a more expedient manner rather than over an extended period of time. The structural family framework and the techniques that go along with it are meant to address issues that arise within the context of family systems. These issues can include things like high levels of authoritarianism, boundaries, roles, and rules, as well as patterns of communication and coalitions that occur between parents and children.

References

Bermea, A. M., Fraenkel, P., Benson, K., St James, C., & Bowen, M. (2022). Intimate partner violence: A focus on queer families, families and substance use, and military couples.

Colapinto, J. (2019). Structural family therapy.Encyclopedia of couple and family therapy, 2820-2828.

Concord, M. A. Queering the Developmental Model:(De) constructing Identities and Building Resilience and Resistance in Individuals and Couples Therapy Suggested Reading.

Diamond, G. M., Boruchovitz‐Zamir, R., Nir‐Gotlieb, O., Gat, I., Bar‐Kalifa, E., Fitoussi, P. Y., & Katz, S. (2022). Attachment‐based family therapy for sexual and gender minority young adults and their nonaccepting parents.Family Process.

Hogue, A., Bobek, M., Porter, N., MacLean, A., Bruynesteyn, L., Jensen-Doss, A., & Henderson, C. E. (2022). Therapist self-report of fidelity to core elements of family therapy for adolescent behavior problems: Psychometrics of a pragmatic quality indicator tool.Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research,49(2), 298-311.

Huft, J. (2022). The History and Future of the Sociology of Therapy: a Review and a Research Agenda.The American Sociologist, 1-28.

Iturra, M. S. (2022).Content Analysis on Hispanic Populations Across Marriage and Family Therapy Journals(Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University).

Long, N. J. (2022). Fieldwork, or family therapy? Kinship, status, and therapeutic ethnography in Sumedang, West Java.

Mohammadi Zarghan, S., Jomehri, F., Dortaj, F., & Farrokhi, N. (2022). Structural Model of the Correlation Between Family Cohesion and Cohesion with Body Image Concern with the Mediating Role of Perfectionism and Self-Compassion in Tehran Residents.Journal of Health Promotion Management,11(3), 26-39.

Negash, S., Chung, K., & Oh, S. (2022). Families post‐release: Barriers and pathways to family therapy.Family Process.

Ramaswami, S. B., Jensen, T., Berghaus, M., De-Oliveira, S., Russ, S. A., Weiss-Laxer, N., … & Barkin, S. (2022). Family health development in life course research: a scoping review of family functioning measures.Pediatrics,149(Supplement 5).

Ryland, S., Johnson, L. N., & Bernards, J. C. (2022). Honoring protective responses: reframing resistance in therapy using polyvagal theory.Contemporary Family Therapy,44(3), 267-275.

Sawrikar, V., Hawes, D. J., & Dadds, M. R. (2022). Family Therapy Interventions for Psychopathy.The Complexity of Psychopathy, 519-544.

Suppes, B. C. (2022).Family Systems Theory Simplified: Applying and Understanding Systemic Therapy Models. Taylor & Francis.

Tadros, E., & Durante, K. A. (2022). Coparenting, negative educational outcomes, and familial instability in justice-involved families.International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology,66(2-3), 267-287.

Tadros, E., Hutcherson, R., & Aguirre, N. (2022). How is Family Therapy Discussed in the Literature on Incarceration?: A Systematic Review.The American Journal of Family Therapy, 1-19.

Terache, J., Wollast, R., Simon, Y., Marot, M., Van der Linden, N., Franzen, A., & Klein, O. (2022). Promising effect of multi-family therapy on BMI, eating disorders and perceived family functioning in adolescent anorexia nervosa: an uncontrolled longitudinal study.Eating disorders, 1-21.

Tsvieli, N., Lifshitz, C., & Diamond, G. M. (2022). Corrective attachment episodes in attachment-based family therapy: The power of enactment.Psychotherapy Research,32(2), 209-222.

VanBergen, A. M., & Love, H. A. (2022). Family‐of‐origin rejection on suicidal ideation among a sexual minority sample.Journal of marital and family therapy,48(2), 560-575.

White, L., & Owen, K. (2022). Systemic Integrative Practice: A Meta‐Framework.Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy,43(1), 33-53.

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