FAMILY SYSTEMS THERAPY

KEY CONCEPTS

• Focus is on communication patterns within a family, both verbal and non-verbal.
• Problems in relationships are likely to be passed on from generation to generation.
• The present is more important than exploring the past. (Corey,2009)

GOALS OF THERAPY

• To help family members gain awareness of patterns of relationships that are not working well and to create new ways of interacting. (Corey,2009)

TECHNIQUES

• Genograms, teaching, asking questions, joining the family, tracking sequences, issuing directives, use of countertransference, family mapping, reframing, restructing, enactments, and setting boundaries.
• May be experiential, cognitive, or behavioral in nature.
• Most are designed to bring about change in a short time.   (Corey,2009) 

FOUNDERS

• Alfred Alder
• Murray Bowen
• Virginia Satir
• Carl Whitaker
• Salvador Minuchin
• Jay Haley
• Cloe Madanes

Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling and psycotherapy. Fullerton: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.