Minuchin

Chapter One: In this chapter talks about the history of many decades where the different therapist is treating family members separated from the family and eventually when one member of the family sought help and got better another one seems to be affected. These different observations lead to begging the family therapy movement (Nichols, M. 2017).

After assessing my nuclear and extended family using a genogram, it was apparent that a history of mental illness was a pattern within my paternal extended family. My family never went to therapy, but I truly think that it would have been beneficial throughout my childhood and teenage years. Solution-focused therapy, narrative therapy, and intergenerational therapy and three therapies that can aide families in healing processes from lack of unity, communication, and negative patterns.

Structural family therapy is associated with the work of Salvador Minuchin and is an evidence based therapy influenced by brief strategic and eco-systemic structural family therapy (Gerhart, 2014). Structural family therapists are active in the counseling sessions and will want to have all of the members of the family participate in the counseling sessions. The therapist is then able to map family structures in order to resolve relation problems between family members. The therapist will then make assessments and set goals to restructure the family interactions while focusing on family strengths.

This idea however is central to what would later become the practice of family and systemic therapies. Family therapy advocates using practices that specifically address historical, contextual and constitutional factors, including working with all members of the extended family and wider social network as well as coaching people to manage their constraints within their unit (Carr, 2012). Systemic therapy has its roots in family systems theory, which was pioneered by Murray Bowen, an American psychiatrist who originally practiced within the psychoanalytic model, but later shifted his focus to the role of family dynamics and dimensions of the family as a system during

Becvar, D. & Becvar R. (2009). Family therapy: a systemic integration. (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Psychodynamic therapy has been around for ages, and has been very beneficial for clients who are suffering from an array of difficulties in life. This form of therapy has the client focus on the past and understand how it has positively or negatively affected his/her behavior and outlook on life. There are many advantages and disadvantages to taking this historical approach when working with families.

Gladding, S. T. (2010). Family therapy: History, theory, and practice (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.

For this paper, I have chosen to reflect on my current client, Jackson Morgan. I have selected Solution Focused Family Therapy as the best fit based on the Morgan family needs and strengths. I will discuss how I would apply this method, handle obstacles, and develop a collaborative treatment plan. Moreover, I will assess my ability to effectively evaluate treatment efficacy and to control my personal biases in Therapy.

I appreciated the forum with its acknowledgment of different styles of therapy and treatment. I believe that I would want the whole family to be present at each session. I want to treat the family as a unit and let them experience how interconnected their issues are with the identified client. I want to look at family counseling from a macrolevel in order to address the influences on the family including the therapy session itself and the counselor’s attitudes, beliefs and style. Being upfront and honest while offering a supportive yet challenging atmosphere is the key for my counseling

Family therapy is needed in so many aspects whether its trauma, substance, abuse or marital counseling. It doesn’t matter if it’s for adolescents in the family or adults. It’s important that a clinician is knowledgeable about family therapy and the best approaches to assist the family in becoming functional.

This paper evaluates the Structural Family Therapy model and its impact on the Emotionally Focused Therapy by Sue Johnson. This paper will discuss the concepts of therapy utilized within the Structural Family Therapy model and how Sue Johnson utilized many of its methods when constructing Emotionally Focused Therapy model. The history of family therapy will be evaluated and the goals of family therapy. Research has proven that due to these clinical practices, families and couples are allowed to evolved issues in which they face into healthy relationships by evaluating patterns in behaviors and past events in their lives. Therapy focuses on the correction of the dysfunctional family as a cohesive unit and does not place focus on the individual. Therefore we find the psychotherapy as a family unit deems to be more effective than previous practices of an isolated session with only the patient and therapist.

During the first session boundaries and ground rules were set. In this session my goal was to get to know the whole family and learn about each of their concerns and what they each wanted to gain from therapy. I went around the room and asked each one to describe how each one viewed their family structure as a whole. I let Marge begin since she seemed to be the most eager one in starting family therapy. Her main concerns were having her husband’s support, her son’s

In family system theory, it is believed that the impact of the relation of individuals on their lives is more than on a counselor and the individuals play a very important role in order to recover faster. In this system, changes in a family comes due to the interaction between the family individuals and therefore more emphasis are put on the relationships within a family which plays important role in the well being of a family with regard to psychological health (Titelman, 1998).

“Serious mental illness, defined in federal legislation as a mental disorder that substantially interferes with one’s life activities and ability to function, has been estimated to afflict 5.4% of the US adult population each year” (Wang, Demler, & Kessler, 2002, p. 92). Family psychoeducation has surfaced as a great treatment option for individuals who have schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and other serious mental illnesses (McFarlane, Dixon, Lukens, & Lucksted, 2003). Due to the incorporation of both illness specific information and instruments for handling related circumstances, the flexibility of this treatment has broad potential for a variety of illnesses and life challenges as it allows for individuals and

The history of family therapy began around 1960 when Gregory Bateson came up with the term, “system thinking.” This type of therapy was a daring departure, from traditional and individual treatment during the 1960s. He was involved in the schizophrenia research project in Palo Alto, California, which had a strong impact in shaping the course of family therapy. Along with his colleagues Jay Haley, John Weakland, William Fry, Don Jackson and later Virginia Satir, Paul Watzlawick, Bateson developed a communication theory which aim was to explain development of schizophrenic behavior within the familial environment.