Name of Concept
Family Structure
Introduction
Family structure is a concept that is rooted in the classic models of marriage and family therapy, most notably as part of the theory and techniques of structural family therapy and strategic family therapy. It describes the organizational principles that influence the family system, including overt and covert patterns of communication and behavior that sustain family roles, rules, and hierarchy. More recently, the concept has appeared as part of Integrative Problem-Centered Metaframeworks Therapy (IPCM) developed by Breunlin and his colleagues (Breunlin 2011a).
Theoretical Context for Concept
The concept of family structure informs the theory and techniques of Structural Family Therapy, developed by Salvador Minuchin and colleagues in the 1960s (Vetere 2001). To develop the concept of family structure, Minuchin drew directly upon the work of Talcott Parsons, a sociologist who developed structural theories of socialization and the family...
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References
Breunlin, D., et al. (2011a). Integrative problem-centered metaframeworks therapy I: Core concepts and hypothesizing. Family Process, 50(3), 293–313.
Breunlin, D., et al. (2011b). Integrative problem-centered metaframeworks therapy II: Planning, conversing, and reading feedback. Family Process, 50(3), 314–336.
Haley, J. (1987). Problem solving therapy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Haley, J., & Richeport-Haley, M. (2003). The art of strategic therapy. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Metcalf, L. (2011). Marriage and family therapy: A practice oriented approach. New York: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Minuchin, S., et al. (1967). Families of the slums. New York: Basic Books.
Minuchin, S., Rosman, B., & Baker, L. (1978). Psychosomatic families. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Vetere, A. (2001). Structural family therapy. Child Psychology and Psychiatry Review, 6(3), 133–139.
Watzlawick, B., & Jackson. (1967). Pragmatics of human communication. New York: W.W. Norton.
Weinstein, D. (2013). The pathological family: Postwar America and the rise of family therapy. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
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Covelman, K., Brown, N. (2018). Family Structure. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_269-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_269-1
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