Structural Theory

Structural Theory / Structural Family Therapy

1. STRUCTURAL THEORY Ms. Lorena L. Cantong MAEDGC

2. Born and raised in Argentina of European immigrant parents Minuchin set out to practice pediatrics following his medical training. Volunteered his services to Israel and served as an army doctor for 18 months in the war with the Arab nations. Salvador Minunchin

3. Back in the united states once again in 1954, Minuchin began psychoanalytic training at the William Alanson white institute Intake psychiatrist at the Wiltwyck School, a residential school for delinquent adolescents outside new York city Philadelphia child guidance clinic has the distinction of being the first clinic in the United S tates Minuchin has now retired to Florida, but continues to lecture around the world.

4. Minuchin’s (1974) viewpoint : The structural approach to families is based on the concept that a family is more than the individual bio psychodynamics of its members. Family members relate according to certain arrangements, which govern their transactions. The reality of the structure is of a different order from the reality of the individual members.

5. Structuralists are interested in : How the components of a system interact How balance or homeostasis is achieved How family feedback mechanisms operate How dysfunctional communication patterns develop

6. FAMILY STRUCTURE

7. family’s structure is the invisible or covert set of functional demands or codes that organizes the way family members interact with one another (Minuchin, 1974) FAMILY STRUCTURE

8. A family’s transactional patterns regulate the behavior of its members, and are maintained by two sets of constraints : Generic Or Universal Rules Idiosyncratic Or Individualized Rules

9. The degree to which the needs and abilities of both spouses dovetail and reciprocal role relations provide satisfaction are key factors in harmonious family functioning. COMPLEMENTARITY

10. Here some feminists take exception to Minuchin’s insistence on family hierarchies, claiming that they run the risk of reinforcing sex role stereotypes FATHER - “ instrumental”role (e.g., making managerial decisions MOTHER- expressive”roles (caring for the family’s emotional needs)

11. Family Subsystems

12. Subsystems, then, are components of a family’s structure; they exist to carry out various family tasks necessary for the functioning of the overall family system. Subsystems are defined by interpersonal boundaries and rules for membership; in effect , they regulate the amount of contact with other subsystems Subsystem organization within a family provides valuable training in developing a sense of self, in the process of honing interpersonal skills at different levels.

13. They may be based on temporary alliances and may have rules concerning exclusion They may be more enduring with clearly defined boundaries separating the two generations

14. Family subsystem divisions are made according to : gender (male/female), generation (parents/children ) common interests (intellectual/social), function ( who is responsible for what chores).

15. Important Subsystems In The Family: The Spousal Subsystems Parental Subsystems Sibling Subsystems

16. Family’s stability may depend upon the strength and durability of spousal subsystem. SPOUSAL SUBSYSTEM

17. The arrival of children forces the couple to transform their system to parental subsystem It is crucial at the start and throughout parenting that, whatever the demands of child rearing and the efforts expended toward the evolvement of an effective parental subsystem, the parents continue to work at maintaining and strengthening their spousal subsystem, which is fundamental to family well-being. PARENTAL SUBSYSTEM

18. The offers the first experience of being part of a peer group and learning to support, cooperate, and protect (along with compete, fight with, and negotiate differences). SIBLING SUBSYSTEM

19. Boundary Permeability degree of accessibility helps determine the nature and frequency of contact between family members.

20. the clarity enhances the family’s overall well-being. It helps the family maintain separateness and at the same time emphasize belongingness to the overall family system. Clearly Defined Boundaries

21. Also known as disengagement Lead to impermeable barriers between subsystems . the worlds of parents and children—the generational hierarchy— are separate and distinct; the members of neither subsystem are willing or able to enter into the other’s world. Excessively Rigid Or Inflexible Boundaries

22. excessively blurred, indistinct and easily intruded upon by other family members . There is no clear generational hierarchy, adults and children may exchange roles easily, and a member’s sense of self or personal identity becomes hard to establish for later adulthood Diffuse Boundaries (enmeshment)

23. Alignments, Power, and Coalitions

24. It is defined by the way family members join together or oppose one another in carrying out a family activity. refer to how supportive or unsupportive of one another the players are in carrying out an operation It is the emotional or psychological connections family members make with one another. Alignment

25. Considered Dysfunctional Each parent demands the child ally with him or her against the other parent. Triangulation

26. It has to do with both authority (who is the decision maker) and responsibility (who carries out the decision ). It speaks to the relative influence of each family member on an operation’s outcome. Power is also related to the way family members actively or passively combine forces. Power

27. are alliances between specific family members against a third member STABLE COALITION It is a fixed and inflexible union (such as mother and son) that becomes a dominant part of the family’s everyday functioning. DETOURING COALITION It is one in which the pair hold a third family member responsible for their difficulties or conflicts with one another, thus decreasing the stress on themselves or their relationship. Coalitions

28. Family Dysfunction A dysfunctional family by definition has failed to fulfill its purpose of nurturing the growth of its members ( Colapinto , 1991)

29. DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY STRUCTURES : Enmeshed families; Disengaged families Families with noninvolved parents Families with juvenile parents .

30. STRUCTURAL FAMILY THERAPY

31. T wo particularly noteworthy contributions to family therapy practice : poor families, including those living in “chaotic slums,” ( b) families that have become fragmented or under organized Aponte and DiCesare (2000)

32. When it is used ? Families and children at risk, including single parents, blended families, and extended families, can benefit from SFT. Settings for SFT include private practice, mental health clinics, substance abuse programs, child welfare agencies, and schools.

33. Structuralists Therapeutic Order: 1. Joining And Accommodating 2. Assessing Family Interactions 3. Monitoring Family Dysfunctional Sets 4. Restructuring Transactional Patterns

34. Joining and Accommodating Joining a family system and respectfully accommodating to its style

35. Mimesis (Greek for “copy”) refers to the process of joining the family by imitating the manner, style, affective range, or content of its communications in order to solidify the therapeutic alliance with them. The therapist might tell of personal experiences (“ I have an uncle like that”) or mimic a family member’s behavior (taking off his coat, sitting In a particular position, playing with the baby).

36. Assessing Family Interactions structural map is a simple pictorial device to formulate hypotheses about those areas where the family functions well and other areas where dysfunction may be occurring.

37. FAMILY MAPPING It often helps provide an organizing schema for understanding complex family interactive patterns—especially which particular subsystem is involved in perpetuating a problem—and as such may be invaluable in therapeutic planning. FIGURE 10.1 Minuchin’s symbols for family mapping

38. Monitoring Family Dysfunctional Sets Monitoring and helping to modify troubled or problematic transaction patterns is the crux of the structural intervention process

39. Boundary making represents an effort to create greater psychological distance between the enmeshed mother and daughter, and by bringing the marginalized father closer, to begin to modify the family’s customary transactional patterns. Unbalancing —goal is to change the hierarchical relationships of the members of a subsystem Tracking , the structural therapist adopts symbols of the family’s life gathered from members’ communication (such as life themes, values, significant family events) and deliberately uses them in conversation with the family Enactment- it is where the therapist actively creates a scenario during a session in which the players act out their dysfunctional transactions rather than simply describe them ( Colapinto , 2000) Structural Techniques

40. Restructuring Transactional Patterns Reframing, changes the original meaning of an event or situation, placing it in a new context in which an equally plausible explanation Is possible

41. Thank you !