Verified Document

Family Therapy Research Paper

Family Therapy Thoughts and Feelings Prior to my working on this particular assignment, I actually knew very little about family therapy. Although the name of this branch of psychotherapy certainly describes itself, I have always adhered to a belief in individuality and that the interrelationships between people do not matter so much as the individuals themselves do. However, after learning about family therapy, I believe that my former belief was incorrect. Familial relations play an important role in the health and well being of the individual. In fact, they may actually account for a fair amount of problems even if there is physical and emotional distance between family members. Thus, the insight that I gained through family therapy has helped to revise my personal worldview and to inform it a great deal.

Whereas I previously believed that the individual was the basic unit of human relations, I now tend to believe that the family helps to provide that basic unit. Because people are raised by others and grow up with a sense of belonging to others, the family actually functions as the most rudimentary element of human interaction. Individuals are very important in the functioning of families, but one of the most interesting things I learned about family therapy is that the actions of one's family members affect virtually everyone in that family, somehow or...

There are numerous examples that are cited within this branch of psychotherapy that pertain to schizophrenia in adults, and to the effects that the actions of family members have on adolescents or children. On some level I was aware that children are affected by the habits of their parents. Now, however, I have come to realize that those actions can play a significant role in the social interactions of the child, in their physical health, and in their propensity to excel in academics. Before, I simply believed that one's own volition and convictions would be enough to overcome such obstacles.
One of the principle components of family therapy, however, is that the ties that bind the individual to the overall unit of the family -- and, by extension, which ties families to society as a whole -- are based on emotion. Emotions are the points of connection between people. Family therapy is also largely based on interactive systems in which the feelings the people foster throughout time for one another are accountable for their relationships with one another, or even the lack of such a relationship in some cases. This aspect of family therapy certainly resonates with my worldview. There was a time when my sister ascertained that my father, who worked within the medical field, smoked cigarettes. She became immediately concerned for his health and reacted as…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Family Therapy
Words: 2030 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

Family Therapy The objective of this case study was to conceptualize the couple's difficulties from two theoretical perspectives and then describe what the best approach to treating them would be based on the perspective for each theory as it pertains to the causes of the family's difficulties, the type of intervention to be used, how to assess the efficacy of intervention and outcomes (effectiveness and projection testing). The case should also

Family Therapy Family Establishment and
Words: 4841 Length: 16 Document Type: Term Paper

The roles of various members of the society are a dictate of the culture between the people involved. For instance, culture has always been behind the dictates that have led to the creation of separation among family members. Culture states that it is the responsibility of the family man to provide for the family. Failure to do that will result in conflicts within the family. In essence, many families

Family Therapy Family Therapist Dr.
Words: 580 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Hence, Barker claims the trainees need some basic understanding of what causes dysfunction within families, and how to distinguish those families that are undergoing a temporarily destabilizing but time-limited crisis, from which they will reorganize and recover independently, from those families who are seriously dysfunctional and require therapeutic intervention. More so, the training of therapists' trainees adopt some scientific model which help shape the boundaries of a discipline and set

Family Therapy an Early Designation of Psychotherapies
Words: 706 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Family Therapy An early designation of psychotherapies divided all types of psychotherapy into two major categories: insight-oriented therapy and action-oriented therapy (Woolley, Wampler, & Davis, 2012). This designation was made on the basis of the therapist's main focus in achieving positive change. An insight-oriented therapy focuses on assisting the client develop knowledge or awareness about themselves as a major focus of change. The insight itself leads to positive change in the

Family Communications Family Therapy and
Words: 1037 Length: 3 Document Type: Thesis

Then, the therapist challenges these structures and begins restructuring the family by offering alternative, more functional ways of behaving and communicating ("Find out more about family therapy," 2008, DMRTK). Regardless of the efficacy of this therapy in some contexts, this approach may be too intimate for anything other than a therapist's office, with a therapist who is familiar about how to assume a critical role in the family structure

Family Therapies Structural Family Approach Major Contributors
Words: 1993 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Family Therapies Structural family approach Major contributors of Structural family approach Structural family approach mainly operates by considering problems within the family structure, it emphasizes on dealing with the individual symptom through examination of the whole family interaction pattern. Furthermore, this theory does not insist on the relation between family interactions and pathology but, it associates the symptoms with family's interaction. Structural family theory has three operating areas, these include; the family, the

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now