Family Counseling Theory
Family Counseling Theory
Katie Peterson
Family Counseling Theory
Family Counseling Theory
Family therapy in a nutshell is a form of therapy in which the counselor works with the
entire family at once instead of individual members. Often, a family therapist will even
reschedule a session if one or more members of the family aren't present. The essential theory
behind family therapy is that a family is a system made up of parts and a problem with one of the
parts affects the entire system. Families try to maintain stability, if one member of the family
does anything out of the "norm" for that particular family; the other members of that family will
fight against him or her to bring things back the way they used to be. This is problematic,
especially if one member of the family is in therapy and learns new coping styles, yet the family
is fighting their healthy changes.
The theory that will be addressed is that of Virginia Satir. Virginia Satir was considered
the Mother of Family Therapy. (Wikipedia) Satir is a Wisconsin native raised on a farm in
Neillsville. At an early age, Satir was intrigued by the family and she knew intuitively that there
was more that went on in families than was apparent to the naked eye. Her family moved to
Milwaukee, WI in order for her to attend high school. Later she attended the Milwaukee State
Teachers College, which is now called University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Satir went on to
publish Conjoint Family Therapy, Peoplemaking and The New Peoplemaking (Margarita
Suarez/Virginia Satir Global Network) just to name a few of the 12 she had either written or cowritten.
The history of Satir’s family therapy model started with her work as a social worker
during her time in private practice in 1951, where she saw families in therapy. Later, in 1955, at
the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute she involved students in a training program of family
therapy. By 1959 Satir, joined the Palo Alto, California, group of the Mental Research institute
Family Counseling Theory
where she remained as the director of training until 1966. At that time she continued her
directorship at the Esalen Institute in California. As her therapy approach continued to expand
she gave many lectures and held many workshops. In the end, she focused on the community and
eventually focused her efforts on world peace (GoodTherapy.org).
She believed that the primary goal of the family therapist was to deal with family pain.
Satir says, family pain manifests itself in the symptoms of one family member but extends itself
to all family members in some shape or form. Satir distinguished the family member who carries
the predominant symptom as the "Identified Patient," or "I.P.". (Cash) She believed that one
person within the family could have an issue and that issue could negatively affect the entire
family
Satir explained that in the dysfunctional family triangle the mates lack confidence in their
marital relationship and already feel left out with each other. The consequence of lack of
confidence leads to spouse disappointed in how different they are of each other, each mate begins
to look toward the child to satisfy his unfulfilled needs. According to Satir, the child is then
forced to side with one parent and to lose the other. In effect, the child who is identified as the
I.P. is burdened with the responsibility of living for his/her parents. Satir believed that through
becoming aware of his or herself, the therapist will have access to more creative and flexible
ways to authentically connect with the individual. Satir believed that "while therapists facilitate
and enhance patients' ability and need to grow, they should at the same time be aware that they
have the same ability and need." Satir suggested that a deep self-knowledge and confidence are
necessary aspects of the therapist's ability to be conscious of self. She described this as "being
fully present in the moment, as the person hood of the therapist is not shed at the office door but
Family Counseling Theory
brought into each and every interaction." In effect, Satir considered the use of self to be one of
the most important instruments for change. (Cash)
Satir had some great ideas that really helped make a difference in many people's lives.
She saw the family as a whole system. She helped people to see how the systems worked by
focusing on communication and family rules. She also helped people to communicate clearly by
showing that people had good intentions but poor communication. She also helped people to
focus on their assets. Finally, she helped people to understand their self-confidence.
(Philosophers, 2010) When she allows the family to focus on themselves as a whole unit it really
takes away from shifting blame onto any one person and lets the family take responsibility as a
whole. Another great aspect is the communications side, because many people fail with simply
not communicating properly or successfully. Satir's theory helps to develop people to a place
where they can communicate successfully and positively.
Satir’s contributions to family therapy was significant. According to Vila, (Vila) Satir’s
systems’ dropout rate was 5.1% where as others were as high as 60%. In addition Satir therapists
were 93.7% successful in engaging clients as opposed to others that were as low as 36%. Also,
the rate of completion of treatment for Satir therapists was 88.8% where as another model was as
low as 26.5%. Likewise, satisfaction by clients for Stir’s Model was rated as high. These results
in research reflect only a partial insight to the contributions Satir’s therapy has made to family
therapy.
Although Satir’s contributions were great, there are some weaknesses associated with her
theory. Vila (Vila) suggests that Satir’s therapy process is dependent on the creativity and personality of the therapist. In addition, it makes the assumptions that the best was done by the par-
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ents as well as assumes a primary triad family structure. According to Vila (Vila) the effectiveness of Satir’s therapy lacks research.
Even though there may be weaknesses, the strengths of Satir’s theory shine through. Vila
(Vila) lists the following strengths (slide 42):
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Concentrates on multigenerational patterns
Diagnoses dysfunctional dynamic in relationships
Respects the uniqueness of each human life
Can be applied to several work settings, cultures, family types, groups, couple and
individuals
Aims at lasting change
Increases individual self-esteem
Improves interpersonal communication skills
Enhances family functioning
Provides a process model for both personal and professional growth function.
Satir’s approach is also critical in addressing the issue of addiction. Satir focus on selfesteem paves the way for undoing much of the trauma or hardships developed as a child from
dysfunctional family patterns. Zitin (Zitin) says, addiction is a way to avoid self-awareness,
which carries the pain and suffering an individual has. Feeling guilt, shame or low self-esteem
can escalate to the point to cause severe anxiety or depression. These feelings are often avoided
by the addict through drug or alcohol use. Through Satir’s approach individuals can learn to take
risk, and build lf-esteem as well as the communication skills to fulfill needs and connect with
others.
Satir’s theory gives permission to dig deeper into the self and become one’s own best
friend. It focuses on the development of authenticity and truth. In addition, it focuses on individual responsibility. Although family patterns and history play an important role in her theory, the
way to health and well-being is through self-awareness, truth and ownership as well as risk and
change. Adopting Satir’s therapy process may not be an easy road, but it is one that has the potential to reshape negative family systems into long lasting positive ones.
Family Counseling Theory
Works Cited
Cash, K. (n.d.). Psychology Today: Here to Help. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/matter-personality/201202/why-does-thepredominant-treatment-paradigm-borderline-personality-di/comments
GoodTherapy.org. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2013, from
http://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/virginia-satir.html
Margarita Suarez/Virginia Satir Global Network. (n.d.). The Virginia Satir Golobal Network.
Retrieved November 7, 2013, from http://satirglobal.org/about-virginia-satir/
Philosophers. (2010). Retrieved November 8, 2013, from
http://www.thestrengthsfoundation.org/3-tips-for-understanding-virginia-satirs-work-onstrengths
Vila, S. (n.d.). Slideshare.net. Retrieved November 8, 2013, from
http://www.slideshare.net/S_Vila/virgina-satirs-presentation
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Virginia Satir. Retrieved Novemeber 8, 2013, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Satir
Zitin, S. (n.d.). Addictions Vs Self Awareness - What is the Relationship? Retrieved November 9,
2013, from www.ezinearticles.com: http://ezinearticles.com/?Addictions-Vs-SelfAwareness---What-is-the-Relationship?&id=4578342