Family standing hand-in-hand on the beach Family systems therapy draws on systems thinking in its view of the family unit as an emotional unit of measurement. When systems thinking—which evaluates the parts of a system in relation to the whole—is applied to families, it suggests beliefs is both often informed by and inseparable from the functioning of one's family unit of origin.

Families experiencing conflict within the unit and seeking professional help to address it may observe family systems therapy a helpful approach.

  • The Development of Family Systems Therapy
  • Family Systems Therapy Approaches
  • Family unit Systems Therapy and the Genogram
  • Eight Interlocking Concepts ofFamily Systems Theory
  • How Can Family Systems Therapy Assist?
  • Limitations and Concerns

The Development of Family Systems Therapy

Family systems therapy is based on Murray Bowen's family systems theory, which holds that individuals are inseparable from their network of relationships. Like other psychoanalysts of his fourth dimension, Murray Bowen was interested in creating more scientific and objective treatment processes as an alternative to conventional diagnostic frameworks and pathological language. Bowen believed all therapists had experienced challenges inside their family unit of origin and that an sensation of this could help therapists normalize human behavior for people in treatment.

Bowen introduced family systems theory in the late 1960s subsequently years of research into the family patterns of people with schizophrenia who were receiving treatment and the patterns of his own family of origin.

Traditional private therapy often addresses the individual's inner psyche in social club to generate change in relationships and other aspects of life. Bowen'southward theory suggests information technology is benign to accost the construction and behavior of the broader relationship arrangement, which he believed to play a part in the formation of grapheme. Co-ordinate to Bowen, changes in behavior of i family member are likely to have an influence on the way the family functions over time.

Family Systems Therapy Approaches

Many forms of family therapy are based on family systems theory. Family systems approaches mostly fall under the categories of structural, strategic, or intergenerational:

  • Structural family therapy, designed by Salvador Minuchin, looks at family relationships, behaviors, and patterns as they are exhibited within the therapy session in order to evaluate the structure of the family unit. Employing activities such as role play in session, therapists also examine subsystems inside the family construction, such equally parental or sibling subsystems.
  • Strategic family therapy, developed past Jay Haley, Milton Erickson, and Cloe Madanes, among others, examines family processes and functions, such as communication or problem-solving patterns, by evaluating family behavior outside the therapy session. Therapeutic techniques may include reframing or redefining a trouble scenario or using paradoxical interventions (for example, suggesting the family take action seemingly in opposition to their therapeutic goals) in gild to create the desired change. Strategic family therapists believe change tin can occur rapidly, without intensive assay of the source of the problem.
  • Intergenerational family therapy acknowledges generational influences on family and individual beliefs. Identifying multigenerational behavioral patterns, such as management of feet, can help people see how their current bug may exist rooted in previous generations. Murray Bowen designed this approach to family unit therapy, using it in treatment for individuals and couples as well every bit families. Bowen employed techniques such as normalizing a family'due south challenges by discussing similar scenarios in other families, describing the reactions of individual family members instead of acting them out, and encouraging family unit members to respond with "I" statements rather than accusatory statements.

Family unit Systems Therapy and the Genogram

A genogram, or pictorial representation of a family unit'due south medical history and interpersonal relationships, can be used to highlight psychological factors, hereditary traits, and other significant problems or by events that may impact psychological well-being.

Bowen used genograms for both cess and treatment. First, he would interview each member of the family in order to create a detailed family history going back at to the lowest degree 3 generations. Bowen then used this information to help highlight important data too as whatever behavioral or mental health concerns repeating across generations. He initially believed it took 3 generations for symptoms of schizophrenia to manifest within the family, though he later revised this estimate to ten generations.

8 Interlocking Concepts of Family Systems Theory

Eight major theoretical concepts form the foundation of the Bowenian approach. These concepts are interconnected, and a thorough agreement of each may be necessary in order to empathize the others.

These theoretical constructions include, in no particular gild:

  1. Differentiation of self, the core concept of Bowen'south arroyo, refers to the manner in which a person is able to split thoughts and feelings, reply to anxiety, and cope with the variables of life while pursuing personal goals. An individual with a high level of differentiation may be better able to maintain individuality while still maintaining emotional contact with the grouping. A person with a low level of differentiation may experience emotional fusion, feeling what the group feels, due to insufficient interpersonal boundaries between members of the family. Highly differentiated people may be more than likely to achieve contentment through their own efforts, while those with a less-adult self may seek validation from other people.A teenager sits on sofa with parents and shows them how to use a laptop
  2. An emotional triangle represents the smallest stable network of homo relationship systems (larger relationship systems can exist perceived every bit a network of interlocking triangles). A two-person dyad may be for a time but may go unstable every bit anxiety is introduced. A iii-person system, yet, may provide more than resources toward managing and reducing overall feet within the group. Despite the potential for increased stability, many triangles constitute their own rules and exist with two sides in harmony and i side in conflict—a state of affairs which may lead to difficulty. It is common for children to become triangulated within their parents' relationship.
  3. The family projection process, or the transmission of a parent'southward anxiety, human relationship difficulties, and emotional concerns to the kid within the emotional triangle, may contribute to the development of emotional issues and other concerns in the kid. The parent(southward) may first focus anxiety or worry onto the child and, when the kid reacts to this past experiencing worry or feet in turn, may either endeavor to "fix" these concerns or seek professional person assistance. However, this may often take farther negative impact as the child begins to be further affected past the business organization and may get dependent on the parent to "fix" information technology. What typically leads to the most improvement in the kid is direction, on the role of the parent(southward), of their own concerns.
  4. The multigenerational transmission process, co-ordinate to Bowen, depicts the fashion that individuals seek out partners with a similar level of differentiation, potentially leading certain behaviors and conditions to be passed on through generations. A couple where each partner has a low level of differentiation may have children who have even lower levels of differentiation. These children may eventually have children with even lower levels of differentiation. When individuals increase their levels of differentiation, according to Bowen, they may be able to break this pattern, achieve relief from their symptoms of low differentiation, and forestall symptoms from returning or occurring in other family members.
  5. An emotional cutoff describes a situation where a person decides to best manage emotional difficulties or other concerns within the family system past emotionally distancing themselves from other members of the family. Cutting emotional connections may serve as an attempt to reduce tension and stress in the relationship and handle unresolved interpersonal issues, merely the finish result is ofttimes an increase in anxiety and tension, although the relationship may be less fraught with readily apparent conflict. Bowen believed emotional cutoff would pb people to place more than importance on new relationships, which would add stress to those relationships, in turn.
  6. Sibling position describes the trend of the oldest, middle, and youngest children to presume specific roles within the family due to differences in expectation, parental bailiwick, and other factors. For example, older children may be expected to act as miniature adults within the family setting. These roles may be influenced past the sibling position of parents and relatives.
  7. The societal emotional process illustrates how principles affecting the emotional organization of the family also affect the emotional system of guild. Individuals in society may experience greater anxiety and instability during periods of regression, and parallels can exist noted betwixt societal and familial emotional function. Factors such as overpopulation, the availability of natural resource, the wellness of the economic system, and so on can influence these regressive periods.
  8. The nuclear family unit emotional process reflects Bowen'due south belief that the nuclear family unit tends to experience issues in four main areas: intimate partner disharmonize, problematic behaviors or concerns in one partner, emotional distance, and impaired functionality in children. Feet may lead to fights, arguments, criticism, under- or over-functioning of responsibilities, and/or distancing behavior. Though a person's item conventionalities system and attitude toward relationships may impact the development of bug co-ordinate to human relationship patterns, Bowen held them to be primarily a result of the family emotional system.

How Can Family Systems Therapy Aid?

Family systems therapy has been used to treat many mental and behavioral wellness concerns. In general, it may be considered an effective approach for those concerns that appear to chronicle to or manifest within the family unit of origin. Family systems therapy has been shown to exist effective with families, couples, and individuals.

This approach may be helpful in addressing conditions such equally schizophrenia, booze and substance dependency, bipolar, feet, personality issues, depression, and eating and food problems.

Limitations and Concerns

Though Bowenian family systems therapy is a popular mode of treatment that both therapists and people in treatment have attested to the effectiveness of the approach, at present there is a limited base of operations of empirical prove backing the arroyo. Though the evidence base is growing, more information—particularly from objective sources—may help confirm its efficacy.

A second criticism of the arroyo is the seemingly unwavering neutrality of its practitioners. Some mental health experts believe that past remaining neutral, unaffected, or silent at all costs, practitioners of family unit systems therapy may be giving tacit approval to any harmful behaviors individuals in therapy may be exposing themselves or other people to.

References:

  1. Baege, M. (2005). Bowen family systems theory. Retrieved from http://world wide web.vermontcenterforfamilystudies.org/bowen_family_systems_theory
  2. Brown, J. (2008). Is Bowen theory still relevant in the family therapy field? Journal of the Counsellors  and Psychotherapists Association of NSW Inc, 3, xi-17. Retrieved from http://www.thefsi.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Is-Bowen-Theory-still-relevant-in-the-Family-Therapy-field.docx.pdf
  3. Brown, J. (2012). Growing yourself up: How to bring your best to all of life'due south relationships (3-5). Wollombi, NSW: Exisle Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.thefsi.com.au/united states/bowen-theory
  4. Family Solutions Institute. (2015.) Strategic & Systemic. Family Solutions Institute MFT Study Guide (Chapter 4). Retrieved from http://www.mftlicense.com/pdf/sg_chpt4.pdf
  5. Introduction to the genogram. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.genopro.com/genogram
  6. ​Kerr, M. East. (2000). One family unit'due south story: A primer on Bowen theory. Retrieved from https://world wide web.thebowencenter.org/theory/eight-concepts
  7. Winek, J.L. (2010). Systemic family unit therapy: From theory to practice. London: SAGE Publications, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/29841_Chapter5.pdf