Structural and Strategic Family Therapy
Structural and Strategic Family Therapy
Individuals are born into families, grow and develop in families, and live most of their lives in families. Therefore, it makes sense that clients are best understood within the context of the family system.
——Dr. Candice Knight, Psychotherapy for the Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse
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The family system is a social unit that is based on unique relationships and roles. Structural and strategic therapies are important, because they offer unique insights to the theoretical underpinnings of this system. As a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, a strong theoretical foundation will help you better understand the family unit and family therapy; this understanding will, in turn, improve the effectiveness of your work with clients.
This week, as you continue exploring family therapy, you examine structural and strategic family therapies and their appropriateness for client families.
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Nichols, M., & Davis, S. D. (2020). The essentials of family therapy (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
- Chapter 4, “Bowen Family Systems Therapy” (pp. 56-71)
- Chapter 5, “Strategic Family Therapy” (pp. 72-88)
- Chapter 6, “Structural Family Therapy” (pp. 89-104
Required Media
Psychotherapy.net (Producer). (2010). Bowenian family therapy [Video file]. Mill Valley, CA: Author.
The approximate length of this media piece is 118 minutes.
Optional Resources
Golden Triad Films (Producer). (1986). The essence of change. [Video file]. Mill Valley, CA: Psychotherapy.net.
Navarre, S. (1998). Salvador Minuchin’s structural family therapy and its application to multicultural family systems. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 19(6), 557–570. doi:10.1080/016128498248845
Psychotherapy.net (Producer). (2011b). Salvador Minuchin on family therapy [Video file]. Mill Valley, CA: Author.
Radohl, T. (2011). Incorporating family into the formula: Family-directed structural therapy for children with serious emotional disturbance. Child & Family Social Work, 16(2), 127–137. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2010.00720.x
Robbins, M. S., Feaster, D. J., Horigian, V. E., Rohrbaugh, M., Shoham, V., Bachrach, K., … Szapocznik, J. (2011). Brief strategic family therapy versus treatment as usual: Results of a multisite randomized trial for substance using adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(6), 713–727. doi:10.1037/a0025477
Santisteban, D. A., Suarez-Morales, L., Robbins, M. S., & Szapocznik, J. (2006). Brief strategic family therapy: Lessons learned in efficacy research and challenges to blending research and practice. Family Process, 45(2), 259–271. doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2006.00094.x
Szapocznik, J., Schwartz, S. J., Muir, J. A., & Brown, C. H. (2012). Brief strategic family therapy: An intervention to reduce adolescent risk behavior. Couple & Family Psychology, 1(2), 134–145. doi:10.1037/a0029002
Szapocznik, J., Zarate, M., Duff, J., & Muir, J. (2013). Brief strategic family therapy: Engaging drug using/problem behavior adolescents and their families in treatment. Social Work in Public Health, 28(3-4), 206–223. doi:10.1080/19371918.2013.774666
Vetere, A. (2001). Therapy matters: Structural family therapy. Child Psychology & Psychiatry Review, 6(3), 133–139. Retrieved from http://www.iupui.edu/~mswd/D642/multimedia/word_doc/StructuralFamilyTherapy_Vetare.pdf
Weaver, A., Greeno, C. G., Marcus, S. C., Fusco, R. A., Zimmerman, T., & Anderson, C. (2013). Effects of structural family therapy on child and maternal mental health symptomatology. Research on Social Work Practice, 23(3), 294–303. doi:10.1177/1049731512470492
Assignment: Structural Versus Strategic Family Therapies
Although structural therapy and strategic therapy are both used in family therapy, these therapeutic approaches have many differences in theory and application. As you assess families and develop treatment plans, you must consider these differences and their potential impact on clients. For this Assignment, as you compare structural and strategic family therapy, consider which therapeutic approach you might use with your own client families.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Compare structural family therapy to strategic family therapy
- Create structural family maps
- Justify recommendations for family therapy
To prepare:
- Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide on structural and strategic family therapies.
- Refer to TherapistAid (2020) in this week’s Learning Resources for guidance on creating a structural family map.
The Assignment
In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following:
- Summarize the key points of both structural family therapy and strategic family therapy.
- Compare structural family therapy to strategic family therapy, noting the strengths and weaknesses of each.
- Provide an example of a family in your practicum using a structural family map. Note: Be sure to maintain HIPAA regulations.
- Recommend a specific therapy for the family, and justify your choice using the Learning Resources.
By Day 7
Submit your Assignment.
Submission and Grading Information
To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:
- Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
- Click the Week 4 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
- Click the Week 4 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
- Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK4Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
- If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
- Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 4 Assignment Rubric
Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity
To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 4 Assignment draft and review the originality report.
Submit Your Assignment by Day 7
To submit your Assignment:
Week 4 Assignment