Family therapy uses a range of counselling and other techniques including structural, strategic, systemic, narrative and transgenerational therapies among others. These techniques are explained below.
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Structural therapy: This therapy looks at, identifies and re-orders the organization of the family
system.
Strategic therapy: Looks at patterns of interactions between family members.
Systemic/ Milan therapy: This therapy focuses on belief systems.
Narrative therapy: This has to do with Restorying of dominant problem-saturated narrative,
with emphasis on context and separation of the problem from the person.
Transgenerational therapy: This technique relies on transgenerational transmission of
unhelpful patterns of belief and behaviour. Other techniques include:
Communication theory: Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information, ideas, or feelings. It requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient. It requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the sender. Media and communication psychology: A variety of verbal and non-verbal means of
communicating exists such as body language, eye contact, sign language, paralanguage, haptic communication, chronemics, and media such as pictures, graphics, sound and writing.
Psychoeducation: This refers to the education offered to individuals with a mental health condition and their families to help empower them and deal with their condition in an optimal way. Psychoeducational training frequently involves individuals with schizophrenia, clinical depression, anxiety disorders, psychotic illnesses, eating disorders, personality disorders, and training courses in the treatment of physical illnesses. Family members are also included.
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The goal of psychoeducation is for the client(s) to understand and be better able to deal with the presented illness. The client‟s capabilities, resources and coping skills are also strengthened, contributing to their health and wellbeing on a long-term basis. Psychoeducation contributes to the destigmatization of psychological disturbances and to diminish barriers to treatment. It broadens the patient‟s view of their illness through an improved view of the causes and the effects of the illness. This increased understanding positively affects the patient, reducing the risk of relapse and the family also feels less helpless.
Psychotherapy: Which is also called counselling is any form of treatment for psychological, emotional, or behavioural disorders in which a trained person establishes a relationship with one or several clients for the purpose of modifying or removing existing symptoms and promoting personality growth. The healing influence in psychotherapy is produced by the words and actions of the therapist/counselor and the client(s)‟ responses to them.
Systemic coaching: This therapy examines the visions, plans and goals of clients‟ actions and provides support and feedback to clarify the desires of clients and resolve any relationship and belief blocks, helping clients to realize their visions in a healthy manner. Systemic coaching begins with diagnoses (analysis of goals), relationships and history, and goes on to discuss benefits, costs and resources. It designs structures that supports clients goals, focusing on what works and appropriate solutions. This leads to pragmatic change strategies without undesirable side-effects.
Systems theory: This is the interdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research. It is a specialization of systems thinking, a generalization of systems
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science, and a systems approach. In this context the word systems is used to refer specifically to self-regulating systems, that is, that are self-correcting through feedback. Self-regulating systems are found in nature, including the physiological systems of our body, in local and global ecosystems, and in climate-and in human learning processes. Systems theory studies the feedback and derived concepts such as communication and control in living organisms, machines and organizations. Its focus is on how anything (digital, mechanical or biological) processes information, reacts to information, and changes or can be changed to better accomplish tasks. In Counselling Psychology, groups and individuals are considered as systems in homeostasis. It is concerned with societal systems and the study of motivational, affective, cognitive and group behavior. It also studies the characteristics of organizational behavior, such as individual needs, rewards, expectations, and attributes of the people interacting with the systems in order to create an effective system.
Reality therapy: This is a specific type of cognitive-behavioural therapy which focuses on choice and the client‟s ability to solve problems. Reality therapy focuses on the present moment in an effort to create a better future. Its core idea is that people are in control of their own actions. It encourages people to focus on aspects of the problem which they can control instead of focusing on complaints and symptoms. Reality therapy breaks down behavior into four groups of thinking, actions, feelings, and physiology. While feelings and physiology cannot be directly changed, actions and thought process can be changed. If they are changed, then the other behavioural groups will change too. The genogram: A genogram is a graphic representation of a family tree that displays
detailed data on relationships among individuals. It goes beyond a traditional family tree by allowing the user to analyze hereditary patterns and psychological factors that hinder
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relationships. Genograms allow a counselor and his client to quickly identify and understand various patterns in the client‟s family history which may have had an influence on the client‟s current state of mind.
4.0 Conclusion
The perspective and analytical frame work of family therapy distinguishes it from other forms of therapies. Family therapists are more interested in the maintenance and /or solving of problems rather than in trying to identify a single cause. The therapy uses a range of counselling and other techniques including structural, strategic, narrative, reality and many other therapies, to achieve its goals
5.0 Summary
In this unit, we have discussed how family counselling can be effective by looking at the goals, processes and techniques of family counselling.
6.0 Tutor Marked Assignment
1. What are the goals of family counselling?
2. Discuss the process of family counselling.
3. Explain five techniques of family counselling.
7.0 References/Further Reading
Alwood, J. D. (2007). Family Counselling. (http://www.nymft.com/Family_Counselling.html). Bauml, J.(2006). Psychoeducation: A Basic Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Patients with
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Broderick, C. B. & Schrader, S. S. (1991). The History of Professional Marriage and Family Therapy. In A. S. Gurman & D. P. Kniskein (Eds). Handbook of Family Therapy. Vol. 2. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Gale, Babara (2007). “Family therapy”. Bereavement Care 26 (3): 58-59
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/family#fathers.27_rights
105 Unit 4 Approaches to Family Counselling
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Contents
3.1 Practical guide to family counselling
3.2 Counselling strategies for handling families
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor Marked Assignment
7.0 References/ Further Reading
1.0 Introduction
In family counselling, the counsellor should evaluate the couple's personal and relationship story as it is narrated, interrupt wisely and facilitate both de-escalation of unhelpful conflict and the development of realistic, practical solutions. The practitioner may meet each person individually at first but only if this is beneficial to both, is consensual and is unlikely to cause harm. Individualistic approaches to couple problems can cause harm. The counselor or therapist encourages the participants to give their best efforts to reorienting their relationship with each other. One of the challenges here is for each person to change their own responses to their partner's behaviour. Other challenges to the process are disclosing controversial or shameful events and revealing closely guarded secrets. Not all couples put all of their cards on the table at
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first. This can take time. In the sessions that follow, we will review practical steps in family counselling.
2.0 Objectives
By the end of the unit, you should be able to:
1. Mention and discuss the basic and core principles of family counseling. 2. Discuss some strategies of counseling couples and families
3. Use any of the strategies to counsel couples that have problems and report your finding to the class.
3.0 Main contents