Strategic Family Therapy

Introduction

• Presenter: Stephanie Yates Anya Bwile, licensed associate marriage and family therapist.
• Focus: Jay Haley's Strategic Family Therapy, a model review for therapists and aspiring marriage and family therapists.

Jay Haley

• Significant figure in marriage and family therapy.
• Background in communication; studied at Stanford.
• Worked with key figures like John Weekland, Don Jackson, Salvador Mnuchin.
• Associated with the Mental Research Institute (MRI).
• Developed Strategic Family Therapy with his wife, Chloe Maddens.

Key Concepts of Strategic Family Therapy

• Brief Therapy: Emphasizes quick results and symptom relief over insight.
• Therapist as Expert: Traditional view where therapist is seen as an authority.
• Circular Causality: Problems are seen as part of maladaptive patterns rather than having a single cause.
• First and Second Order Change:
  • First Order: Superficial changes not impacting family rules.
  • Second Order: Fundamental changes in the system's rules.
• Symptom as Power: Symptoms are seen as attempts to exert control within the family dynamic.

Therapy Goals

• Focused on symptom relief rather than insight.
• Altering family transactions, hierarchy, and organization.

Techniques and Interventions

• First Session Stages:

  1. Social Stage: Observe natural family interaction.
  2. Problem Stage: Identify the reason for therapy.
  3. Interaction Stage: Observe family discussions on problems.
  4. Goal Setting: Establish treatment goals and assign tasks.

• Types of Interventions:

  • Directives: Straightforward tasks aligned with the presented problem.
  • Paradoxical Interventions: Prescribing the opposite to reveal control over behaviors.
  • Ordeals: Pairing symptoms with unpleasant tasks to discourage behavior.
  • Restraining: Advising the family not to change, highlighting their power to change.
  • Positioning: Exaggerating symptoms to alter family perception.
  • Reframing: Viewing symptoms in a positive light.

Final Notes

• Strategic Family Therapy is a collaborative yet traditional model emphasizing the therapist's role in guiding change.
• Encourages family involvement in the therapeutic process through directives and homework.
• Utilizes paradoxical techniques carefully to avoid risks.