Running Head: FAMILY WORK AND RELATIONSHIPS
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................1
Family Systems Therapy................................................................................................2
The Peterson Family.......................................................................................................3
Family Structure.........................................................................................................3
Intergenerational Boundaries.................................................................................3
Subsystems.............................................................................................................4
Emotional Closeness..............................................................................................4
Homeostasis............................................................................................................5
Adaptation..............................................................................................................5
Therapeutic Intervention................................................................................................5
Therapy Plan...............................................................................................................6
Therapy Precautions...................................................................................................7
Therapy Goals............................................................................................................8
Conclusion......................................................................................................................8
Works Cited..................................................................................................................10
Appendix......................................................................................................................12
Introduction
One of the most difficult adjustments for family therapists from western cultures is
the adoption of a systems perspective. Our personal experience and western culture tell us
that we autonomous individuals, capable of free and independent choice. But fact of the
matter is that we are born into families. Most of us, live our lives attached to one form of
, FAMILY WORK AND RELATIONSHIPS 2
family or another. Within in these families we discover who we are, develop and change, and
give and receive the support we need for survival. We create, maintain and live by unspoken
rules and routines that we hope will keep the family functional [ CITATION GCo17 \l
7177 ].
A family systems perspective believes that individuals are best understood through
assessing the interactions between and among family members. The development and
behavior of one family member is interconnected with other family members within the
system. Symptoms are viewed as an expression of a set of habits and patterns within a family
[ CITATION Bob02 \l 7177 ]. A client’s identified problem is a symptom of how the family
functions, as opposed to a symptom of the individuals maladjustment, history and
psychosocial development [ CITATION Dem96 \l 7177 ]. The client coming to see me, Sam,
is an adolescent living in South Africa and has been subjected to sexual abuse due to
environmental factors surrounding her current family conditions.
Family Systems Therapy
Family therapy is a multilayered system known as systemic therapy. Systemic therapy
uses a systems-based model characterized by psychotherapeutic approaches to help clients
cope with problems within their family system [ CITATION Bob02 \l 7177 ]. Family therapy
allows close family members to address their issues in their relationships. The goal of therapy
is to provide therapeutic tools that can attend to dysfunctional behaviors within the present
family context [ CITATION Tar03 \l 7177 ]. The family therapist employs models in which
offering the opportunity for family member to bond and interconnected with each other
through understanding, empathetic and logical association. Although the models provide
opportunities for therapist to work with a client’s dysfunctional behavior, it facilitates
improvement in family functioning, specifically during a transitory period of development
[ CITATION Dem96 \l 7177 ].
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................1
Family Systems Therapy................................................................................................2
The Peterson Family.......................................................................................................3
Family Structure.........................................................................................................3
Intergenerational Boundaries.................................................................................3
Subsystems.............................................................................................................4
Emotional Closeness..............................................................................................4
Homeostasis............................................................................................................5
Adaptation..............................................................................................................5
Therapeutic Intervention................................................................................................5
Therapy Plan...............................................................................................................6
Therapy Precautions...................................................................................................7
Therapy Goals............................................................................................................8
Conclusion......................................................................................................................8
Works Cited..................................................................................................................10
Appendix......................................................................................................................12
Introduction
One of the most difficult adjustments for family therapists from western cultures is
the adoption of a systems perspective. Our personal experience and western culture tell us
that we autonomous individuals, capable of free and independent choice. But fact of the
matter is that we are born into families. Most of us, live our lives attached to one form of
, FAMILY WORK AND RELATIONSHIPS 2
family or another. Within in these families we discover who we are, develop and change, and
give and receive the support we need for survival. We create, maintain and live by unspoken
rules and routines that we hope will keep the family functional [ CITATION GCo17 \l
7177 ].
A family systems perspective believes that individuals are best understood through
assessing the interactions between and among family members. The development and
behavior of one family member is interconnected with other family members within the
system. Symptoms are viewed as an expression of a set of habits and patterns within a family
[ CITATION Bob02 \l 7177 ]. A client’s identified problem is a symptom of how the family
functions, as opposed to a symptom of the individuals maladjustment, history and
psychosocial development [ CITATION Dem96 \l 7177 ]. The client coming to see me, Sam,
is an adolescent living in South Africa and has been subjected to sexual abuse due to
environmental factors surrounding her current family conditions.
Family Systems Therapy
Family therapy is a multilayered system known as systemic therapy. Systemic therapy
uses a systems-based model characterized by psychotherapeutic approaches to help clients
cope with problems within their family system [ CITATION Bob02 \l 7177 ]. Family therapy
allows close family members to address their issues in their relationships. The goal of therapy
is to provide therapeutic tools that can attend to dysfunctional behaviors within the present
family context [ CITATION Tar03 \l 7177 ]. The family therapist employs models in which
offering the opportunity for family member to bond and interconnected with each other
through understanding, empathetic and logical association. Although the models provide
opportunities for therapist to work with a client’s dysfunctional behavior, it facilitates
improvement in family functioning, specifically during a transitory period of development
[ CITATION Dem96 \l 7177 ].
