Sociology

Structural Family Therapy, a methodology formulated by Salvador Minuchin, is extensively used in psychotherapy in order to identify the inherent problems that are associated with dysfunctional families. Derived from the basic theories of systems and communication, the structural family therapy model primarily enables the therapist to practically take part within the family system that he is attempting to analyze, consequently, allowing him or her to understand the latent family rules that direct the functioning as well as the resultant relationships between the various family members.

The most important feature of the structural model is its ability to enable the therapist to understand the fundamental rules and regulations that provide the basis for a particular family system as well as the subsequent relationships between family members. Hence, the focal point of this psychotherapy lies upon discovering the family structure. Accordingly, the methodology classifies families as being functional or dysfunctional depending upon the way that they deal with stressful situations. Therefore, in a comprehensive sense, in my opinion one of the most important aspects of this model is its capacity to analyze a family system under situations of duress and then analyzing problems that exist within the functionality of that family.

When conducting therapy sessions, I would most like incorporate the entering of the therapist within the family system feature as it is the most essential element of the structural family therapy model in the sense that it allows the therapist an up close and personal view of the family that he or she is treating while simultaneous allowing to interact with the various family members in ways that would not be possible in accordance with normal therapy sessions. Also, I would extensively use the isolation method that has been described by Munichin, as it allows the various family members to view their family system from a completely different perspective.

However, after analysis of the structural family therapy model, I came to the conclusion that I would try to avoid using the unbalancing approach, which primarily simulates stressful situations, as much as I can because frequent use would basically result in rigidity and adaptation on the part of the family in regards to dealing with particular situations. The basic aim of the therapy is to induce change gradually while also strengthening the ties within the family, hence the unbalancing approach would primarily negate that purpose if used indiscriminately.