9 techniques of systemic family therapy

Systemic family therapy is a therapeutic approach that is applied in the treatment of disorders derived from the interactions and communication patterns of a group. The main contribution of systemic models is to move therapeutic action out of the realm of the intrapsychic to bring it into the realm of interpersonal interaction patterns.

Systemic family therapy was established and growing alongside systemic therapy. However, it must be noted that not all family models are systemic. For example, the psychodynamic and object relations approach (Skinner, Ackerman and Sager) or multigenerational approaches (Whitaker, Bowen).

Systemic models are based on a series of foundations. The most important are cybernetics and the information theories of Shanon and Weaver, general systems theory (Bertalanffy) and human communication theory (Watzlawick).

Nine models of systemic family therapy

It is pertinent to take into account that Systemic family therapy focuses on the emotions of the family group, not just in the individual. Well, consider that the best way to recognize and understand their emotions, thoughts and behaviors is by knowing the family dynamics of the groups to which they belong.

However, There are different schools of systemic family therapy ranging from the psychoanalytic to the systemic, some of them are:

1. Psychoanalytic family therapy

Psychoanalytic family therapy She was the pioneer in the treatment of families. So he provided a conceptual framework from which most current theories evolve towards the systemic model.

The essence of this approach consists of being able to recognize and interpret unconscious impulses and their defenses against them.as well as its relationship with the principle of object relations.

Its techniques are relatively simple, although this does not mean that they are easy to apply. These are: listening, empathy, interpreting and maintaining analytical neutrality.

Most psychoanalytic therapists prefer to work with families with a high level of verbalization since they are taught to “free association of ideas” that is, express their feelings and ideas spontaneously, which provides material for analysis and allows interlocutors to communicate more freely.

2. Existential family therapy

This approach assumes that the problem is not the individual but the family, so the behavior that is identified as “sick” is a consequence of a way of relating which manifests itself, in principle, in one of its members; but if you delve properly you discover that it is not the only one.

This therapy model It then acts on relationships and not on the behavior of a single person., maintaining continuity between individual, family and community; interpreting its development and adaptation within that system of interrelationships, emphasizing change and inner growth rather than the elimination of certain supposedly deviant symptoms.

3. Transgenerational therapy

Many people feel limits and are not able to reach the goals they want for inexplicable reasons. These are blockages that ultimately trigger frustration, sadness, grief, or anxiety.

In these cases, transgenerational therapy explores everything that the person has received from past generations and looks for the burdens that the person has inherited and they don’t let her move forward.

In other words, transgenerational therapy focuses on interactions between family members across multiple generations to identify nuclear family problems.

4. Structural family therapy

Structural family therapy is a method of psychotherapy developed by Salvador Minuchin, who argued that The pathology does not reside in the individual in particular, but in the dynamics of relationships and the way in which ties are structured within the family system.

Therefore, it focuses on understanding the interactions that govern family functioning and intervening in dysfunctional relationships within the family, causing it to stabilize in healthier patterns.

5. Strategic family therapy

Strategic family therapy was developed in the 1950s, primarily by Jay Haley, who believed that It is more important that patients solve their problems immediately rather than understand the reason for them.

In this case, The strategic therapist establishes clear objectives that are related to the problem presented; and therefore it does not apply the same method to all the cases presented but rather designs a specific strategy for each problem.

The objective of this therapy is, above all, prevent the repetition of sequences and introduce greater complexity and alternatives.

6. Narrative family therapy

Narrative family therapy It consists of a type of collaborative conversation where each member has the opportunity to express themselves and be heardso that your speech helps you co-construct more viable, practical and productive solutions for the family system.

Besides, Each person’s narrative provides new knowledge about their own reality.and helps them delve into their own history as the main authors of it.

In this sense, The main objective of narrative therapy is to help the client rewrite their life, incorporating into his story pieces of history that have been marginalized from experience, events that constitute exceptions to the current narrative.

7. Brief psychotherapy

In general, It is an intervention of ten sessions maximum (although the average is 6-7) focused on a specific problem. In this case, we could summarize the objectives of the first interview as follows:

Identify a problem in specific, concrete terms. Explore attempted solutions, also in specific terms. Establish therapy goals in positive, concrete, and achievable terms.

Based on the information collected, the therapist will try to understand the problem as a vicious circle in which the solution exacerbates a difficulty, and Design a task to do between sessions that breaks this cycle.

It is evident that the task will involve, first of all, doing something different, and secondly, something that prevents the “solution” that has been applied so far.

8. Cognitive behavioral therapy

This type of therapy seeks to modify the irrational thoughts that are causing the problems through cognitive restructuring and modification of problematic behaviors, relying on assertive communication.

Generally, this type of intervention aims to find specific solutions to specific problems raised by the family, or by one of its members.

9. Systemic school of Milan

The geographical name of this school has become popular due to the wide variety of contributions it has made to family therapy at different levels.

In general terms, The systematic school of Milan defends that the system does not create the problem but vice versa: the problem creates the system. According to his followers, the “enemy” to attack is not any member of the family in particular or even the family as such; but what they call the family game, which is nothing more than the set of interactions and coalitions that occur around the problem to maintain it.

Objectives of systemic family therapy

Despite the different aspects of this therapy, we can identify the main objectives common to all of them. They stand out among them:

Improve family and couple functioning.Foster and strengthen understanding between members of the family group.Develop strategies and enhance problem-solving skills.Correct behavioral problems.Treat addictions from the family point of view.Promote psychoeducation.

Some common techniques in systemic family therapy

In systemic family therapy there are a series of interventions that are among the most common. Some are taken from other forms of therapy and it is certainly a way of working that allows the use of any technique that is considered appropriate.

In this article we will only mention some common ones, but there are books that include techniques and forms of interventions, such as 24 ideas for brief therapyby Mark Beyerbach.

1. Positive redefinition of the symptom

This type of reformulation, widely practiced by Minuchin and his colleagues from the structural school, attempts to provide a different relational reading of the factswhich calls into question the structures of the system.

It is about challenging the definitions given in the family, which includes the role of the identified patient, thus questioning their vision of reality.

2. Positive connotation of the symptom

It consists of attributing a positive meaning to the problem behavior or symptom of the relational context where it acquires its functionality, specifying the contribution of each of its members to the circular pattern.

The Milan team argues that defining only the symptom positively has the tacit implication of defining the rest of the family negatively, which implies a certain alliance between the therapist and the bearer of the symptom. While they advocate a position of neutrality.

3. Exceptions and miracle questions

In the miracle question, The family is asked what the day would be like if a miracle happened and their problem is suddenly solved. For example, we seek to know what would be the first thing they would notice, etc. This gives us clues about elements to introduce to make the miracle begin to occur in the family.

For exceptions, we ask about situations where things were done differently and where things went well. In this way, we help them focus their attention on the positive and give us the opportunity to introduce variations to encourage it.

If, for example, the mother and son do not argue because the father supports the mother only on some occasions, we can encourage the father to support the mother more times.

4. Scale questions

A type of question that is sometimes useful is Ask the family to rate, from 1 to 10, where their problem is. From here you can find out what it would take to raise a point on the scale or, if the score is low, what they have done to ensure that it does not go down any further.

5. Circular questions

We ask another family member what the member we want to know about does, feels, etc. This avoids an escalation of discussions, encourages a cyclical and interrelated vision of the problem that affects everyone, and often allows unknown information to flow or new points of view to emerge.

6. The illusion of alternatives

The first to use it in psychotherapy was MH Erickson. It was then used in all successive models of strategic psychotherapy, such as the brief MRI model…