A small observation maybe obvious for some
One of the things that I find fascinating with family therapy is that (for me) it shares a number of similarities with Gestalt therapy. The most prominent of which is how it views the family in relation to the “field” and conceptualizes each member in the family relative to characteristics of their here and now behavior to form abrupt hypothesis of their conduct and recreate, support or deconstruct it within the context of the family. Family therapy as illustrated in the assigned reading “Enactment” is dramatic and alive a place for the therapist to be an active participant in. The therapist has full artistic license when intermingling with the family in treatment manipulating, adjusting, and tweaking …show more content…
Being aware of the distance family members sit apart from each other and potentially manipulating where a member sits in the room is having a gestalt awareness of the field and how every move is met with some kind of reaction or counter movement.
This weeks reading contained highlights from Minuchin’s family counseling sessions. I perceive Minuchin as a masterful chess player creating movements in order to expose aspects of a client’s true nature. Position or role-played within the context of their family. I believe that you can never claim to know how a person is going to act. But there is a quality of human nature that makes a person predictable to a certain degree Minuchin exploits this predictability and uses it to extract vital information about family dynamic.
Another aspect of family therapy revealed in this chapter was that a therapist has to be aware a family will come into the session with pre-existing (assigned) roles. It's almost like family members are following a script. Often a long ongoing drama with characters who are archetypical in nature the troubled teen, the overbearing father, the emotional over dramatic
One of the things that I find fascinating with family therapy is that (for me) it shares a number of similarities with Gestalt therapy. The most prominent of which is how it views the family in relation to the “field” and conceptualizes each member in the family relative to characteristics of their here and now behavior to form abrupt hypothesis of their conduct and recreate, support or deconstruct it within the context of the family. Family therapy as illustrated in the assigned reading “Enactment” is dramatic and alive a place for the therapist to be an active participant in. The therapist has full artistic license when intermingling with the family in treatment manipulating, adjusting, and tweaking …show more content…
Being aware of the distance family members sit apart from each other and potentially manipulating where a member sits in the room is having a gestalt awareness of the field and how every move is met with some kind of reaction or counter movement.
This weeks reading contained highlights from Minuchin’s family counseling sessions. I perceive Minuchin as a masterful chess player creating movements in order to expose aspects of a client’s true nature. Position or role-played within the context of their family. I believe that you can never claim to know how a person is going to act. But there is a quality of human nature that makes a person predictable to a certain degree Minuchin exploits this predictability and uses it to extract vital information about family dynamic.
Another aspect of family therapy revealed in this chapter was that a therapist has to be aware a family will come into the session with pre-existing (assigned) roles. It's almost like family members are following a script. Often a long ongoing drama with characters who are archetypical in nature the troubled teen, the overbearing father, the emotional over dramatic