Overview of Structural Therapy

Introduction

• Presented by Stephanie Yates Anyabuila, licensed associate marriage and family therapist.
• Channel targets therapists, aspiring therapists, and those using therapy techniques.
• Focus of video: an overview of Structural Therapy, particularly for those becoming therapists.

Background of Structural Therapy

• Developed by Salvador Minuchin in the 1960s and 1970s.
• Emerged during the beginning of the marriage and family therapy movement.
• Classified as a classic model, in contrast to post-modern therapies.
• Minuchin primarily worked with low-income families, labeled as disorganized families.
• Response to Freudian psychoanalysis, emphasizing external relationships over internal exploration.

Key Concepts

• Hierarchy in Family: Focuses on the organization and hierarchy within the family structure.
  • Parents should be at the top, children below.
  • Hierarchy becomes evident during family conflicts.
• Boundaries within Family:
  • Importance of boundaries that are firm yet flexible.
  • Overly rigid boundaries can lead to disengagement.
  • Overly permeable boundaries can result in enmeshment.

Common Problems Identified

• Detouring: Parents become overly protective or blame the child for family problems.
• Stable Coalition: One parent and one child team against another parent.
• Unstable Coalition: Parents compete for their child's attention, common in divorces.

Goals of Structural Therapy

• Combines short-term and long-term therapy goals.
• Main goal: Restructure the family for healthier dynamics.

Phases of Therapy

1. Joining
   • Building trust with family members.
   • Therapist establishes authority in the therapy session.
   • Use of techniques like mimicry and tracking to connect with the family.
2. Evaluating the Structure
   • Identifying boundary issues.
   • Use of family structural maps to depict relationships and coalitions.
3. Restructuring the Family
   • Techniques to unbalance existing structures.
   • Role-playing, reframing behaviors to alter perceptions.
   • Modifying hierarchical relationships to rebalance authority.
   • Boundary-making exercises to highlight and change inflexible structures.

Techniques

• Unbalancing the Family: Role-playing, altering hierarchical relationships.
• Reframing: Changing the perception of behaviors to foster understanding.
• Boundary Making: Challenging current dynamics to promote new structures.

Conclusion

• Structural family therapy focuses on understanding and restructuring family hierarchies and boundaries.
• Utilizes therapeutic techniques to achieve healthier family interactions.

Call to Action

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• Thank you message from Stephanie Yates Anyabuila.