Family intervention M3.2D

View the following video and discuss in your main post.

Structural Family Therapy (2 hours in length, psychotherapy.net, interactive transcription).
When using the discussion area, in your original POST add in the SUBJECT LINE the name of the specific model you selected. As you write you main post and replies be sure to connect to the respective text chapters. Be sure to address all these steps in your main post::

In your chosen model, what are the theoretical assertions, beliefs and assumptions about what a healthy family should be like? According to the theoretical view of this model – what causes or explains family problems?
Based on your chapter reading and the video, according to this model, what is causing this specific family’s problems?
Do think the therapist missed anything that was important about this specific family? if so explain.
What are your impressions of and reactions to the therapist(s)? What did you think about the therapist’s style of interacting with the family members?
What questions did the therapist ask and/or observations did they make, that you thought were interesting or helpful? Explain your thinking.
Expectations

You are required to submit an initial original response to this Discussion (be sure to respond to each of the questions for full credit

ANSWER

Structural Family Therapy

According to structural family therapy, a healthy family is one where there are clear boundaries around the system and its subsystems. The subsystems are the subgroupings within a family, and they are based on gender, age or interest (Goldenberg & Goldenberg, 2012). According to this model, family problems start happening when these boundaries are unclear, and family members start breaking these boundaries. In the video transcript, the family is experiencing problems with their daughter, Pam, because they have not set boundaries. Pam is a working adult who should be able to cook her food (Psychotherapy.net). Her parents have not established these boundaries with her, and thus Pam feels like her parents owe her. She keeps getting angry with them if she does not get her way. She lets out her frustrations mostly on her mother. These problems are a result of unclear boundaries.

I do not think that the family missed anything about the family. From the transcript, the therapist started by trying to understand the root cause of the issue. He ensured he understood why Pam was always angry at her mother. From the guiding questions he asked, he realized she got angry if she did not get her way (Psychotherapy.net). He also realized that there were no clear boundaries in the family and thus helped them establish these boundaries. The therapist started as distant, but by the end, he guided the family on how to work out their issues, and he was doing it sternly like a father. I found interesting the way the therapist kept asking Pam questions about what she needed. This guided her into opening up and telling her mother what she wanted. I was also impressed by how he handled the family and showed them the unclear lack of boundaries in their family and the need to set boundaries for their daughter.

References

Goldenberg, H., & Goldenberg, I. (2012). Family therapy: An overview.

Psychotherapy.net. Structural Family Therapy.