Family Therapy

Presented by Group 3
Contents of this presentation
01 Family Therapy

02 Structural Family Therapy

How this applies to August: Osage

03 County
Elements of Family Therapy and how
04 it applies to August: Osage County
 Family Therapy
01
Family therapy focuses on working with individuals within the family unit, bringing together a
combination of work with each person in each session and integration among each member of the
family to become a more holistic unit (Wedding & Corsini, 2018).
 Structural Family
02 Therapy
Structural Family Therapy is centered around the family unit and improving the interactions
between family members.
This is based on the assumptions of systems theory, emphasizing a need for structural change, for
example within the family
When looking at Psychopathology, it considers what maintains Psychopathology rather than what
causes it, arguing that dysfunctional family structures can cause stress and possible mental
concerns.
The goal is to improve communication and overall family relationships
 Application to the
03 movie
The individual, whilst their own person is seen to be a part of the family, meaning that their
behaviour cannot be separated from that of others ( Hatfield, 2000).
Considering this, the behaviour of the mother is seen to impact the behaviour of the daughters,
and so forth.
The Psychopathology of the mother (ie: her drug problem) is maintained through her prior and
existing dysfunctional family structure

There is need seen for structural change, possibly initiated through everyone leaving
 Elements of
04 Structural Family
Therapy
1. Family Structure
2. Family Subsystems
3. Boundary and Permeability
4. Alignment and Coalition
 Family Structure is
how a family
Family Structure organises itself
Violet
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Ipsum

Beverly
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Ipsum

Lorem
Ivy Western
Ipsum Barbara
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Ipsum Karen
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Ipsum Charles
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Ipsum

A healthy family is one with clear

boundaries around the system and
subsystem
 Family structure
Cont….
Structure refers to the behavioural patterns exhibited by the family unit.
A dysfunctional structure will lead to to more issues within the family unit and among each
member of the family.
Obtaining a baseline understanding of how a family functions can help the therapist
understand what may or may not need to change within the family structure to ensure it can
become more functional.
Even in functional structures, families will still experience moments of dysfunction.
They are however better equipped to recover from those behaviours before they become a
pattern
 Family Subsystems
The family structure appears to be
dysfunctional and strained due to
underlying issues such as addiction, secrets
Small systems and unresolved conflicts.
within the wider
whole, roles can
be negotiated The Mother and daughters
among members
The Sisters

Barbara and her husband

Barbara and her daughter

Categories can include
● Parental
● Spousal
● Parent - child
● Sibling
 Family subsystem
cont…..
An individual may be part of multiple subsystems

Subsystems are defined by boundaries which indicate that each subsystem is distinct from the
larger system as well as from other subsystems, while still recognising their interrelatedness
Such boundaries not only define the membership of subsystems but also the rules of interaction
between those members.
For example, rules that govern the exchanges between parents differ from the rules that govern
exchanges between siblings or exchanges between parents and children.
 Boundaries and Permeability
Boundaries when considering family therapy, refers to “ who participates, how much do they
participate” and are seen as the physical and psychological factors which separate people from one
another and organize them.

Boundaries govern the contact within the system

Families must operate with appropriate boundaries in order to maintain healthy relationships.

Three types of boundaries: diffuse (enmeshed), rigid (disengaged) and clear.

In families with diffuse boundaries, there is little independence between family members.

Each individual’s emotional state is dependent upon how the other members of the family are feeling.
In this environment, personal emotional control is difficult.
 Boundaries and Permeability Cont…..
Rigid boundaries occur when family members are isolated, or disengaged from one another.

In rigid families, communication and emotional expression are very difficult.

Clear boundaries create an environment in which people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and
feelings.

Establishing clear parameters can facilitate more empathy between individuals.

There can be seen to be an overall lack of boundaries in the system as seen in how the family speaks
to one another ie: the aunt and charles, the daughters to their mother etc

A positive boundary can be seen in how the uncle speaks to the son, in a positive manor
 Alignment and Coalition
Alignment Coalition Application

An alignment refers to the

Coalition focuses on an alliance Ivy and Charles love interest
way in which "family
between two family members
members as individuals and
against
as parts of subsystems
A third family member
relate to each other relative Barbara and Ivy against Karen
to other family members
and subsystems Dad and Daughter against
Barbara
Joining of two people for a
common interest Karen and Steve, when he
inappropriately develops an
attraction towards Jean.
Structural Family Therapy interventions
● Identifying and addressing unhealthy boundaries and coalitions within the family.
● Encouraging clearer communication and understanding among family members.
● Exploring and confronting long-standing family secrets and conflicts.
● Promoting healthier ways of dealing with addiction and emotional issues.
● Helping the family restructure their dynamics to reduce tension and improve overall
functioning.
References
● Hadfield, K. (2000). A structural family therapy approach to counselling families (Master's thesis).
https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ53097.pdf

● Cherry, K. C. (2023). How structural family therapy works. Verywell Mind.

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-structural-family-therapy-5193068

● Wedding, D., & Corsini, R. J. (2018). Current psychotherapies. Cengage Learning.

Thank you for listening!

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questions?