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Structural family therapy literature review
Structural family therapy literature review
Structural family therapy literature review
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Introduction Divorce is and has become a major issue in our society, the reason for that has been attributed to the drastic increase in divorce rates over the years. Divorce often disrupts the flow of the family structure, increases discord, and affects how family issues are handled. Families dealing with divorce are often times in a state of complete confusion and disorder, and filled with frustration, anger, and pain. Power struggles between spouses, which often times spread to the children if there any increase as the addiction worsens. There is a growing concernment among those in different fields like Social Work, Academia, and Mental Health in the United States, other countries, who have taken an interest in how divorce is readjusting …show more content…
Structural Family Therapy offers a framework that provides order and meaning within the family connections (Nichols, 2013). Divorce for a family is considered a significant transition for all parties involved. When counseling a family going through divorce the structural family therapist’s job is to build an alliance with the family and obtain information about the structure. The structure of the family consists of the roles, interactions, organization, and hierarchy. Family therapy yields the belief that changing the organization of the family leads to change in the individual members. The structural family therapist often will try to become part of the family to gain a perspective of their issues as whole so not to place the focus on one individual. Joining is an empathetic approach in helping families explain and break down their individual stories without uncomfortable challenge or unnecessary confrontation (Nichols, 2013). It is important to note that family dysfunction that often leads to divorce is not attributed to one individual, but the entire family system. In structural family therapy, part of dealing with the issue of divorce in the family is to focus on the interactions between all the family members both positive and negative. Through these interactions the therapist can discover where the conflicts arise, which will in turn help the therapist understand how these negative interaction affect the family. Family therapy in these cases allows for repair of long-standing interactional patterns in which divorce is just one of a series of ongoing transactions that are disruptive to the child’s development (Kaplan, 1977, p.75). The structural family therapist often has the family play out these family interactions via enactments so that he can get a firsthand look at maladaptive patterns, roles, and
The objective of structural family therapy for this family would be to improve the functionality of the family system and restore the structured family system with development (Collins, Jordan, & Coleman, 2010). Additionally, since the family dynamics are somewhat different since the father is away often and the girls were younger when the family dysfunction initiated, it may be appropriate to work on boundaries in therapy. McAdams, et al.(2016) found that “foundational structural principles of family hierarchy, system and subsystem boundaries, and member alliances all continue to play a central role in current applications of the structural model, and the assessment criteria applied most recently to structural family therapy process and outcome research are likewise grounded in those structural principles” (McAdams, et al.,
The structural model of the systemic family therapy is an option for the analysis and therapeutic interventions, which is based on the family as an open system, on the interaction in the family structure, which determine the relationships among its members (Minuchin, 1974 ). As therapists, we must work on the dysfunctional patterns of the family organization structured to allow the family to effectively carry out their tasks and functionally to face their daily stresses. With family, reorganization is expected that the problem will go away
Structural therapy focuses on the family as a whole. It is concerned about how the issues effect the family relationships and connections. This theory concentrates on how well the understanding is amongst the family members and counselor. The members of the family are prompted to understand how the issues were created, where did the issues come from, when the issues started effecting their family, and what the family needs to overcome their issues. Its focus is to help others understand and improve negative behavior. The structural therapy concentrates on the interaction and boundaries of families with separating the whole family into smaller groups. The subsystems will create a clearer understanding of what issues are hurting their family environment (Gladding, S. T. 2010). The counselor is concerned about the members interaction because this reveals how strong the relationships and connections are in the home. The boundaries are important because they create an understanding that there are limits and order, and the boundaries can be diffused, rigid, or clear (Gladding, S. T. 2010). The counselor is expected to identify techniques so members can understand which boundaries are clear, positive, and healthy (Gladding, S. T. 2010).
Family therapy differs from other kinds of therapy in the most basic premise that the unity of the problem is not one person but two or more. This is not a patient whose evil is stimulated by others but a symptomatic behavior product of a relationship between two or more people (Danny Wedding, Raymond J. Corsini ( 2013). Find the problem that the family wants to correct and identify in a clear manner. Initially, as a therapist trying to change the low expectations of the family to one where change within the family and theorize on what can happen. Using a genogram will be useful to analyze the addresses and relationships of each person in the
Divorce has become an unquestionable remedy for the miserably married. Currently, the United States has the highest divorce rate in the world. Every year in the US approximately one million children experience divorce which, is about one in every three children (Amato 21). The effects of divorce can be tremendously painful for both children and adults. Children of divorce are more likely to suffer from behavioral, social, academic, and psychological problems than children raised in two-parent families.
Looking at recent publications, one has the impression that family therapy is a new concoction from the psychotherapist's alchemic kitchen. It is met with diverse reactions. Some regard it suspiciously, seeing it as a deviation from traditional therapeutic methods; others praise it as an important advance in the treatment of psychoses. Still others view it as a special method for dealing with children.
Structural Family therapy focus is to reform the family so that there are limits between parents and progenies, while the parents are reassuring of each other and their children. In achieving this the therapist has observed firsthand
In our society families are the foundation of all human relationships. Therefore learning to maintain and develop healthy families are the goals of family therapist. Counselors can use the Structural Family Therapy approach in counseling hurting families. The pioneer of structural family therapy is Salvador Minuchin (Hammond & Nichols, 2014).
The breakdown of a family can have many repercussions on the individual members with the least involvement. The children involved in a divorce are often times the most impacted victims of a divorce. Children with divorced parents are often left feeling neglected by the parent that has chosen to move out, unloved, and often times burdened with feelings of guilt. The poverty rates of single parented households are alarmingly high, and are often the result of divorce. With all these factors added together, divorce is a dangerous and scarring event in a child’s psyche.
The dissolution of a marriage, or ‘divorce’ as it is known, was once an infrequent occurrence and often considered the failure of a wife to maintain a happy marriage (Lewis, 2013). Following a change in legislation in the 1960s that allowed partners to end their marriage without having to provide justification, in conjunction with the sexual liberation movement, the incidence of divorce more than doubled (Wilcox, 2009). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012), the number of marriages ending in divorce has continued to rise, however, despite an increase in social acceptance, the negative impact divorce has on children has remained prevalent (Kelly & Emery, 2004). It is imperative for researchers to assess the repercussions of divorce in order to learn how to efficiently minimise the negative impact it has on those involved. Studies have shown that children of divorce often experience high levels of psychological distress due to the alteration of family dynamics, as well as the experience of loss, grief and the fear of abandonment (Kelly, 2000). Such powerful disruptions within a child’s microsystem can result in ongoing behavioural difficulties, as the child may have developed destructive schemas during the times of considerable stress (Kim, 2011). An increase in stress can be detrimental to the child’s social and academic performance, which could contribute to lifelong complications (Potter, 2010). Despite this, it is important to remember that whilst the process of divorce and its aftermath can create significant emotional disturbance for some, it also marks the dissolution of an unhealthy relationship, which can result in the cessation of exposure to negativity, such as arguments and fighting, for others (Strohs...
In the 21st century, divorce has become commonplace not only in the United States, but in many parts of the world. Franklin and Boddie (2004) reported that within 10 years about 40-50% of American marriages end in divorce. In 2009, the divorce rate in the United States stood at 3.6 per 1,000 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). Divorce, however, is not only a social issue, but it has serious health implications. Divorce has been researched extensively and is considered an adverse event (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). Adverse events such as personal or parental divorce has been linked to many ailments and conditions including substance abuse, depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and premature mortality (Sbarra, Law, & Portley, 2011; CDC, 2009).
It is unfortunate that marriages sometimes end and there are children caught in the middle of the marriage but it may be worst for the parents to stay together simply for the children’s sake. However when parents do divorce the children are the most effected by the divorce. Often enough the divorce causes children to feel displaced and also to have feelings that their world is coming to an end. These children tend to grow into adults with either extreme emotional detachment and self-esteem issues or they will have strong family values and try to prevent the cycle from repeating itself but the majority of these children grow up suffering from the divorce.
Divorce is a very common word in today's society. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, "divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage or a complete or radical severance of closely connected things"(Pickett, 2000). This dissolution of marriage has increased very rapidly in the past fifty years. In 1950 the ratio of divorce to marriage was one in every four; in 1977 that statistic became one in two. Currently one in every two first marriages results in divorce. In second marriages that figure is considerably higher, with a 67% average (National Vital Statistics Report, 2001). One critical aspect of divorce is often not taken into consideration: How it affects children. Every year 1.1 million children are affected by divorce (Benjamin, 2000). Children from divorce or separation often exhibit behavioral and long-term adjustment problems (Kelly, 2000). Throughout this paper I will discuss divorces effects on children at different age levels, how they react, and what can be done to help them.
Divorce has become a phenomenon of the modern world and is grabbing attention of numerous nations as well as the media. Divorce rates are escalating in a global perspective however the increase is not as rapid as it used to be a few decades ago. Developed countries, such as the US, England and Wales are experiencing a gradual decrease in divorce rates and marriage rates since 1980 and is showing no sign of increasing. Divorce affects a wide population especially because of the development of
Around the world divorce is common and known amongst different societies, some with higher rates than others. According to Irvin (2012), in America there is one divorce every 13 seconds. That’s 6,646 divorces per day, and 46,532 divorce per week. This is a social issue within our society that has many negative effects on everyone facing this circumstance. The divorce rate in the U.S is a problem that shows an increase in its rates compared to the past decades. According to the U.S Census Bureau, around 50 percent of marriages end in a divorce. There are many reasons for divorce from “hard” reasons (e.g., abuse and adultery) to “soft” reasons (e.g., psychological and relational problems). The two most destructive reasons for a divorce is physical violence or alcohol and drug problems, but these reason are less frequently are seen as reasons for divorce. The most common reasons for divorce are the “soft” reasons. According to William, a recent national survey found that 73% said the “lack of commitment” was their major reason for divorce. Other reasons were “ too much arguing, infidelity, marrying too young, unrealistic expectations, lack of equality in the relationship, lack of preparation for marriage, and abuse” (William, p10). Divorce has known to be a second most stressful life event, came before only by the death of a spouse and what is that stress capable? It is dispatching a serious about of anxiety and depression to people’s limbic system as emotional center in the brain. According to Taylor and Beth (2009), the stress of divorce had driven people beyond the normal grief felt in a divorce and into a clinical depression. “Nearly 15 million American adults, or about 6.7 %...