Minuchin was born in 1921 in Argentina. He was an analyst who studied medicine and specialized in solving family issues. To explore and practice further, Minuchin opened a pediatric clinic and later on became a lecturer. He invented the Structural Family Therapy that solves issues among members in the family (Reiter, 2017). It is a kind of treatment that seeks to explore the relationship between family members or between the various divisions in the family.
Origin of the Theory
Minuchin spearheaded the discovery of Structural Family Therapy project with the help of his colleagues when working as a therapist. The school Minuchin was practicing his career, comprised of errant boys from needy and problematic families (Reiter, 2017). It was at that period; therapists found out that a particular clinical inhabitant was not responding to traditional psychotherapy. They further realized that the population resembled the one that Minuchin was attending to at Wiltwyck School. It was also noted that traditional psychotherapy was only meant for middle-class patients, the reason why it was not working on the delinquent boys (Minuchin, 2018). Minuchin saw the need for a new model, and that is how he came up with the structural family therapy to get a solution to the different class of families.
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Primary Precepts of the Theory
Structural Family Therapy has various guidelines that help people to plan and understand the family (Minuchin, 2018). The major ones are coalition; it is the unity between two members in the system while doing away with the third person. It ordinarily is short-lived because it seeks to get immediate action done. Structure of the family also counts, that is whether it is nuclear or extended Separation, for instance, if the parents are together or not. Power is also a guideline in that it determines the strength of getting something done in the family. It also sees how family members react when someone passes a message or asks for a particular thing to be done. Alignment is how members of the family relate to each other. It may be an individual towards a subsystem in the family or vice versa.
Current Application of the Theory Mechanics
The theory is still practiced in our families today. It remains one of the most taught versions in America, meaning most therapists apply it in when solving family problems (Minuchin, 2018). Also, the fact that an older model failed to work with the current generation of delinquent children means that this model is just ideal and practical to this generation.
Conclusion
Family is the core of society. Salvador Minuchin realized how broken the systems are and decided to come up with a solution to help mend and restore traditional values and family bonds. The structural family therapy is available to assist our families live in peace and togetherness for the betterment of the future.
References
Reiter, M. D. (2017). Salvador Minuchin, MD: Innovator and Challenger. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 36(4), 16-22.
Minuchin, S. (2018). Families and family therapy. Routledge.
