Family Systems Therapy

Themes Your client, though having individual problems, is part of larger systems. Members of a system tend to have an influence on other members behaviors. A family is no different. The person presenting for therapy (the identified patient) is often the symptom of a larger problem or process. Some believe that as the person attempts to change, the healthy system will support, while the unhealthy system will try to drag them back into the old way of thinking and doing. Understanding an individuals family environment, both current and past, is essential to understanding the person and helping them to achieve their life goals

Themes Triangles Differentiation Enmeshment Disengagement Nuclear Family Emotional System Marital conflict Dysfunction in one spouse Impairment in one or more children Emotional distance

Themes Family projection process: (1) the parent focuses on a child out of fear that something is wrong with the child; (2) the parent interprets the child's behavior as confirming the fear; and (3) the parent treats the child as if something is really wrong with the child. Multigenerational transmission process Emotional cutoff Sibling position Societal emotions process

Process Therapist as coach. Supportive but remain objective and does not get entangled in the families dynamics Attempts to keep client and therapy reality based and objective

Process Look for patterns of dysfunction Communication Positioning Detriangling Genograms Family sculpt Include family themes, myths, rules, and roles