Contextual Family Therapy Model. Contextual Family Therapy

The family system is founded on the notions that for change to occur in the life of an individual, the therapist must understand and work with the family as a whole. In working with the family, the therapist can understand how the individual in counseling functions within his family system and how the client’s behaviors connect to other people in the family. This theory also holds the perception that symptoms are a set of family habits and patterns passed down by generation and not a result of a psychological problem or an inability to change (Corey, 2017). Furthermore, the family system theory holds the idea that when a change occurs everyone in the unit is affected by the change.

The basic concepts of this type of therapy are boundaries, subsystems, complementary and alignments which are easily applied and grasped. The most important aspect the therapist must keep in perspective is that every family is made up of structure and that these structures are seen only when the members of the family interact. If the therapist does not consider the entire structure of the family and intervene in only one of the many subsystems are most likely not to attain a lasting change.

Family is something that plays a tremendous role in our life. Even though the structure of families has changed over the years, it is important to acknowledge that there many families out there whether they are traditional families, nuclear family, stepfamilies or others which tend to have different types of problems in their families. Therefore, many families attempt to go to family therapy in order for them to obtain help in solving the different types of issues they might have at home. As stated in the book Family Therapy by Michael P. Nichols (2013), “The power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interaction… What keeps people stuck in their inability to see their own participation in the problems that plague them. With eyes fixed firmly on what recalcitrant others are doing, it’s hard for most people to see the patterns that bind them together. The family therapist’s job is to give them a wake-up call” (2013).

Structural Family Therapy (SFT) has a few interventions within the theoretical model that I could see myself using with clients (families) from diverse backgrounds with diverse presenting problems. I am in agreement with the way this model looks at the different types of families and the types of issues they present with such as the patterns common to troubled families; some being "enmeshed," chaotic and tightly interconnected, while others are "disengaged," isolated and seemingly unrelated. This model also helped me understand that families are structured in "subsystems" with "boundaries," their members not seeing these complexities and problems that are going on

It comes down to focusing on what is the cause of the problem and what needs to be done to resolve it. Some assumptions that are related to this theory can include families normally related to one another in “patterned ways that are observable and predictable” (Linblad-Goldberg & Northey, 2013), most families have rules that each must follow and roles they are to play in the family unit, when they get off balance then dysfunction can and normally does occur. It is important that families have boundaries which include both inside and outside of the family. Families also have subsystems which can be based on either generation or genders.

Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy employed to assist members of a family in improving communication systems, conflict resolution, and to help the family to deal with certain problems that manifest in the behavior of members. In most cases, deviance in a family member is an indication of underlying family dysfunctions. This paper looks the counselling procedure that can be applied to help the Kline family solve their problems. It answers certain questions including those of the expected challenges during therapy and ways of dealing with the challenges.

My first assumption of family therapy was to involve the parents and the individual that had the problem. This book explored further what it

In the Structural Family Therapy model, therapy is not focused solely on the individual, but upon the person within the family system (Colapinto, 1982; Minuchin, 1974). The major idea behind viewing the family in this way is that “an individual’s symptoms are best understood when examined in the context of the family interactional patterns,” (Gladding, 1998, p. 210). In SFT, there are two basic assumptions: 1) families possess the skills to solve their own problems; and 2) family members usually are acting with good intentions, and as such, no

Contextual family theory/therapy was developed by psychiatrist Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy (Nichols, 2013). Basically, contextual theory is based on the idea that the system would benefit from each individual giving and receiving with a fairness and balance that incorporates mutual understanding (Nichols, 2013). Boszormenyi-Nagy saw loyalty as a very important component to the family system. He, “believed that family members owe one another loyalty and that they acquire merit by supporting each other,” (Nichols, 2013, p. 172). I was instilled with the same belief because I had a similar theme in my family: “family comes first, and you always help family.” There is also split loyalty, which is when parents pushed children to pick one parent or the other to be loyal to. An example of split loyalty I experienced was when I graduated from college, my parents made it seem like I had to decide where my loyalties lied, which they interpreted to be decided by my choice

Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, psychiatrist and family therapist, is most well-known for being the creator of Contextual Therapy. Contextual therapists emphasize the ways in which generations are inherently bound to each other, while also considering intrapsychic and interpersonal elements. Unlike many other treatment modalities, contextual therapists consider relational ethics, or fairness in relationships. Every relationship has a ledger of indebtedness and entitlements. The ledger is balanced when the relationship is fundamentally built on equitability. The ledger includes both legacy, acquired by family dynamics and experiences, and the record of an individual’s accumulated merit by contributing to someone else’s welfare (Boszormenyi-Nagy & Krasner, 1986).

therapy aims to improve family relations, and the family is encouraged to become a type of

A main key concept of NT is that the problem a client presents with is viewed separate from the client. The problem is not the person; it is something the person has. Therefore, the goal of NT is to change the effects resulting from the problem and not the person themselves. To do this, NT uses the technique of externalizing the problem. To externalize the problem, the problem is first given a name and then it is explored and applied to the clients believes, values, behaviors, and ideals that has formed the clients identity. The negative aspects of these areas get rewritten into the new story. The process of externalizing the problem allows the client to see their problem separate from themselves so they can better

Approaches to Family Therapy: Minuchin, Haley, Bowen, & Whitaker Treating families in therapy can be a complex undertaking for a therapist, as they are dealing not only with a group of individuals but also with an overall system. Throughout history several key theorists have attempted to demystify the challenges families face and construct approaches to treatment. However, there have been key similarities and differences among the theoretical orientations along the way. While some have simply broadened or expanded from existing theories, others have stood in stark

Thus, intergenerational and psychoanalytic family therapies “share several key concepts and practices: examining a client’s early relationships to understand present functioning; tracing transgenerational and extended family dynamics to understand a client’s complaints; promoting

The overall purpose of this brief paper is to characterize the main concepts, main techniques, and any current research that supports contextual therapy in relation to contextual theory. While the purpose of this exercise was to demonstrate knowledge of counseling theories not addressed in class sessions, contextual therapy (which has also been referred to as contextual family therapy in prior literature) is not per se a theory as much as it is a method of therapy based on Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy’s contextual theory. In his determination that there is more to understanding an individual’s challenges in relation to others, Boszormenyi-Nagy designed contextual therapy to draw attention to his empirically-based findings from over 40 years of