STRUCTURAL THERAPY

Structural Therapy



Abstract

The very title of the structural family therapy emphasizes the use of the concept of family systems for therapeutic intervention. Particular emphasis is placed on the integrity of the family system. Family therapists in this direction are paying close attention to interactions and other manifestations of activity of family members, which allows us to understand the organization or structure of the family. Then how, when and with whom the family members interact in real time, is crucial for understanding and subsequent therapeutic changes in family structure. History of the theory and techniques of structural family therapy is inextricably linked with the name of the prominent therapist Salvador Minuhina. S. Minuhin colleagues conducted psychotherapy based on the boarding Wiltwyck School for boys with delinquent behavior, living in New York. The structural orientation could not be better suited to dealing with family problems of teenagers - in fact the vast majority of them were from broken families. In addition, a significant influence on the structural approach developed by Jay Haley has psychotherapy, focused on problem solving, as well as psychotherapy with immediate social environment Speck Ross. These researchers have collaborated with S. Minuhinym after it in the early 1970s. headed the psychological and pedagogical advice for difficult children in Philadelphia. This chapter is devoted to presenting the basic ideas Minuhina Salvador, as well as other theorists and clinicians who contributed to the development of structural trends.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Founder and History of Structural Family Therapy4

Literature Review6

Structural Characteristics of The Therapist7

Methodology9

Results10

Theory of Health/Normalcy/Pathology11

Conclusion12

References13

Structural Therapy

Introduction

Founder and History of Structural Family Therapy

“Salvador Minuchin is the founder of the structural approach to family therapy” (Becvar & Becvar, 2009 p.200). Minuchin received his medical training in Argentina. He had originally planned to specialize in pediatrics. However, following his volunteer work as an army doctor in 1948, he decided to pursue training in child psychiatry. He also studied psychoanalysis. Afterwards, he returned to Israel to work with children who were victims but survivors of the Holocaust. From there, he gained interest in working with entire families (Becvar & Becvar, 2009).

Minuchin published a book with other psychotherapists entitled Families of the Slums in 1967. The book outlines his work done in New York City with African American and Puerto Rican males who were juvenile delinquents. Two years prior, he became the director of the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic. This clinic is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Children's Hospital and is known for its excellent treatment using the structural approach, training in that area for staff, and a center for family therapy in general (Becvar & Becvar, 2009). Structural family therapy is a strength-based model that does not contemplate a family system as dysfunctional. It describes a balance between stability and change. The family is viewed as a whole or “system” in which transitions and changes within the life of the family can affect the structure. The role of the therapist, therefore, is to restructure the family which includes realigning boundaries and hierarchies within subsystems to promote ...