Another Chance, Sharon Wegscheider Cruse
The notion of family systems therapy appeals to me. The idea that if one person can be helped to change, the entire family dynamic can be altered is a statement of hope. I embrace the idea of "whole person/whole family" treatment because it reflects my experiences regarding the individual and the family. I want family systems therapy to be a panacea, but it isn't.
Perhaps my earlier notion of family systems therapy was overly idealized by previous professors: if you can affect a change in one member of the family, no matter how slight, then you can change the entire family dynamic. I think we each know at least one person who has engaged in years of productive therapy, morphing into an evolved individual who is so different from the family of origin that new friends mumble, "How did YOU come from that family?" and, still, the family dynamic remains intact and the evolved member helpless to change it. I may have to settle for the satisfaction of helping one person at a time and knowing that each person I help is one more free person.
Spirituality is one of the pilings of Cruse's treatment philosophy, and although I agree with her belief that a human being is comprised of six interwoven "potentials", I draw the line at infusing one's treatment philosophy with one's spiritual beliefs. Though we share the same bias, it is my opinion that working from this perspective implies that the client will not be considered whole, and therefore, healthy, if all six potentials aren't realized and manifested in the client's life.
Furthermore, it implies that the therapist's values will inform the process far more than will the client's needs. And, it implies that as the therapist attempts to untangle the threads of the client's/family's psychic tapestry, the therapist's pursuit of "Truth" and the creation of therapeutic modalities will be governed by this philosophy. One can infer that the cli...