Structural Family Therapy

Structural family therapy views the family in terms of three components: structure, subsystems, and boundaries. Structure describes the repeated patterns that define family relationships, and includes the rules that govern behavior and dictate the assumption of roles and functions. The hierarchical structure of the family describes the framework of authority, which in turn determines how intra-familial conflict will be mediated. Nichols and Schwartz (1995) explain that family structure is difficult for the therapist to discern without observing spontaneous interaction between family members (p. 213). The forces that shape family structure are both universal and unique.

Subsystems of families describe the various functions that members perform. Subsystems are coalitions created by the bonding of certain family members. For instance, parents often maintain a united front before their children, thus creating a generational subsystem. A subsystem based on gender would align the female family members against the male members or vice versa. Subsystems are also based on common interests. Family members must d

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ily were enmeshed: "In enmeshed families . . . boundaries are diffuse and family members overreact and become intrusively involved with one another" (Nichols and Schwartz, 1995, p. 218). Hans' mother allowed the boy to watch her using the bathroom, "he goes on pestering me till I let him," and to sleep in bed with her (Freud, 1963, p. 97). As a result, Hans entertained fantasies of conquering or eliminating his father, which manifest themselves in his phobia of being in the streets: "He sticks to the house from love of his mother, and he is afraid of my going away because of the hostile wishes that he nourishes against me" (Freud, 1963, p. 85). An analysis of Hans' case from a Bowenian family therapy perspective involves examining the family's problems from a wider context. In Bowenian theory, each person's energy is consumed in balancing the opposing life forces of family togetherness and individuality: "The central premise is that unresolved emotional attachment to one's family must be resolved, rather than passively accepted or reactively rejected, before one can differentiate a mature, healthy personality" (Nichols and Schwartz, 1995, p. 371). The Bowenian therapeutic approach is based on eight interlocking concepts: d
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Approximate Word count = 2638
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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