Introduction to Family Counseling

Introduction to Family Counseling
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Introduction to Family Counseling
The structural family therapy concerns itself with the current and future situation. The theory asserts that the history of a family is manifest in the present thus it is manageable via interventions in the here and now. Individuals are perceived as social beings and they ought to be perceived holistically with respect within the setting of their social systems. The family structure is viewed as being comprised of arrangements of family transactions. The fundamental aim of structural family therapy is to solve difficulties in the family and alter the underlying systematic structure (Bitter, 2013).
The therapist’s task as stipulated in the model is to aid the family in attaining the relevant family rebuilding. In the Robertson family, Marie, Dan, and Peter have all established how they add to family problems. Therefore I would employ the structural diagnosis to help the family in identifying and interrupting their toxic interaction patterns. This process will involve the continuous exercise of hypothesis testing, observation as well as the reformulation of the family’s necessary transactions as well as structure (Rasheed, Rasheed & Marley, 2010). This will help me offer a framework of data with respect to the problem in the family system that is agreeable to structural intervention.
The family members can be assisted to adopt strategies and behaviors that maintain recovery through the restructuring process.

According to Carlson, Sperry, and Lewis (2013), the restructuring process is achieved through enactments, delineating the boundaries, and unbalancing by developing a coalition with family members and also through complementarity. Some of the important techniques that can be utilized in the process include the actualization of family transactional patterns, escalation of stress to compel members to yield, assigning roles and using symptoms. Moreover, support, guidance, and education can also be offered to the Robertson family by providing direct instruction to the members to behave differently.
References
Bitter, J. (2013). Theory and Practice of Family Therapy and Counseling (2nd ed.). Boston MA: Cengage Learning.
Carlson, J., Sperry, L., & Lewis, J. (2013). Family Therapy Techniques: Integrating and Tailoring Treatment. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge.
Rasheed, J., Rasheed, M., & Marley, J. (2010). Family Therapy: Models and Techniques. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.