Systemic Approach In Family Therapy

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In the Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Chapter 14, Family Systems Therapy is discussed (Corey, 2013, p. 433). Family Systems Therapy is a theory that doesn’t focus only on one person, the client, but the family as a whole. It’s based on building family structure and stability. The influential developers of this theory is quite a few. There is Alfred Adler, who was the first developer to take interest and brought up the idea to use the systemic approach in family therapy. Murray Bowen, who discovered the idea of multigenerational family therapy. Virginia Satir, who couldn’t stress enough how important communication and emotional understanding is in a family. Carl Whitaker, who “enforced self-determination, choice, freedom, …show more content…
I’ve gotten so accustomed to it, but once I read this perspective, it all made sense. I know and am aware to the type of secrets that may lie beneath the family tree. Due to my own experiences, I could easily figure out who is the one “running the show”, controlling what’s going on, and keeping the cycle going. I could relate and grasp how the individual, the client, might feel. In the aspect of having the “puppet master” control, intimidate, and overpower everyone and anyone else. The “Puppet Master” is usually the one who benefits from the client’s symptoms. The theory fits my personality, also. One of my characteristics is optimism. I believe any situation within the family is fixable. As John Ray stated in English Provers, “Blood is thicker than water” (Laudenberg, 2015, p.158). Sometimes, family will always stay and for some people, at the end of the day, family is all they really have. Unless there’s a divorce situation or abuse going on within the household, you could try to repair the issues together. You also must look inside yourself to find the courage to forgive, accept, mend, and progress as a unit. However, some families believe that problems must be handled inside the system, excluding authorities, services, and etc. Another characteristic is hopefulness. I strongly believe that there is some good in just about anyone and anything. Of course, we have to be realistic and aware but we still need to encourage and remind the family and client that things will get better with time. It’s a positive thing to motivate and inspire people to express their talents and abilities, which would help the client move forward and find what they like to

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