The Development Of Family Therapy

876 Words2 Pages

Virginia Satir was a key participant in the development of family systems theory. She was the developer of Conjoint family therapy, the Change Process model and the Communication model of family therapy. One of her core beliefs was that growth, change and understanding can be achieved to help people reach their full potential. She believed that she could help families to improve their relationships and communication exchanges (Caflisch, n.d.). All families have a certain way that they function with each other and have a set way of how they solve problems together. However, some families may find themselves unable to successfully overcome any problems that may occur as well as have difficulties in properly communicating with each other. This occurrence can cause dysfunction and unhappiness within the family unit. According to Hartline (2007), Satir found that each person can improve their lives and relationships with others by changing the way they see and express themselves. She believed that a family puts the blame on one family member for its pain and problems but blame can usually be put upon all members of the family (Hartline, 2007). According to Satir, families will come to see that change in how their household interacts can occur and with that change self-esteem will increase, all family members will become more responsible and all family members will be able to synchronize (Banmen, J. & Banmen K.M., n.d.). To help make this change happen, the family must be able to dwell in a loving atmosphere, they need to have a sense of trust with each other, they must believe that change can happen, and they must be able to meet each other halfway throughout the process of change (Hartline, 2007). To help families to m... ... middle of paper ... ...e subject that's being discussed. Super reasonable communication is unemotional and there is a strong need for controlling of themselves and others. This is also known as the ‘know it all and make others feel incompetent’ style of communication. The fifth communication pattern is congruent communication. A person who communicates congruently shares their thoughts and emotions about themselves without projecting them onto others and avoids manipulation (Caflisch, n.d.). What is important here is that congruent communication allows for the development of self worth and this is the ultimate goal of the growth model. Virginia Satir’s theory and models have provided families and individuals with helpful and invaluable knowledge on how we can successfully make changes and taught us how we can benefit from change and gives us insight on how we can improve our lives.

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