Family therapy
Satir described that family pain reveals itself in the symptoms of one member of the family, but the pain extends itself to all family members in some form or shape. Her theory distinguishes the family member who carries the predominant symptom as the Identified Patient. She believed that dysfunctional parenting patterns are likely to be caused by a troubled marital relationship. Satir explained that the family member who is the Identified Patient is the one who has been the most subjected to dysfunctional parenting and also most affected by the troubled marital relationship (Hargrave, & Zasowski, 2016).
According to Satir, a family is an interacting unit that is striving to achieve balance in relationships by using circular, predictable, and repetitious communication patterns in a phenomenon described as family homeostasis. She defined that the marital relationship is the axis around which all other relationships in the family are formed and that the spousal mates are the architects of the family. Therefore, if a family member has some problems associated with the family, the therapist should dig for the root problem in the family which may be the cause. He or she should first identify the stability of the marital relationship within the family, and start treating the problem from that angle.
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Communication Theory
Satir attributed survival of human to communication whether conscious or unconscious, verbal or non-verbal. She explained people often fail to communicate what they are feeling inside, and they are forced to believe that other people are supposed to read their minds. For example, there is an assumption that if you’re in love with someone, you are supposed to read their mind and if you are unable to, you don’t love them. She explains that communication acts like a huge umbrella that covers human beings and affects everything that goes in-between. In her explanation, she says that the types of relationships that an individual will end up in or what happens around his or her life is mostly affected by the kind of communication he or she engages in. Satir describes that the relationships between intimacy and distancing, making sense and not making sense, health and illness, and competency and incompetency are all affected by communication. Therefore, a therapist who is dealing with a patient with these issues should first study the types of relationships that the patient is in. This information will form the baseline which he or she will use to treat the patient.
Satir Transformational Systematic Therapy (STST)
STST which also known Satir method was designed to improve communication and relationships within a group or family structure by addressing a person’s emotions, actions, and perception as they relate to the dynamic of that person within the group or the family unit (Seo, & Kim, 2015). STST stresses the importance of working with the whole family rather than with the person experiencing the difficulty because the issues are often rooted in the family dynamic, and the problem may be affecting all members of the family even if they are not showing any signs. The theory focuses on finding the inner self of a person and stimulate change at the core which will influence the person’s behavior and emotions to begin the journey towards healing, and improve interactions with others. A therapist is required to dig into his patient’s inner self which will allow him to establish the root cause of the problem the patient is experiencing. STST is usually applied during family therapy although it can also be used in groups that have issues among its members.
The Satir Change Model
This is a model that can assist people or organization during a transformation. The model has five stages that describe the effects each step has on thinking, feeling, physiology, and performance. The first stage is the late status quo followed by resistance, chaos, integration, and the last one is the new status quo. The model describes how individuals in the first stage are in a stable relationship before foreign element affects the relationship, the individuals the confront the foreign element in the second stage by resisting, which later cause chaos among the individuals. In the fourth stage, they find a way of integrating the external element into their relationship. After succeeding they enter into the last phase where their relationship is stable again with the foreign element incorporated within their normal process (Wretman, 2015). This model guides therapists on how to advise individuals at each level so that they can complete the cycle without breaking up. The Satir change model can be applied in almost all fields that are experiencing change, from families to evolving companies.
References
Carlson, M. W., Oed, M. M., & Bermudez, J. M. (2017). Satir's Communication Stances and Pursue–Withdraw Cycles: An Enhanced Emotionally Focused Therapy Framework of Couple Interaction. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy , 16 (3), 253-270.
Hargrave, T. D., & Zasowski, N. E. (2016). Families and forgiveness: Healing wounds in the intergenerational family . Routledge.
Seo, S. H., & Kim, S. J. (2015). The Effects of a Parental Education Program based on Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy Model for Preschoolers' Mothers. Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing , 24 (4), 330-341.
Wretman, C. J. (2015). Saving Satir: Contemporary perspectives on the change process model. Social work , 61 (1), 61-68.
Yıldırım, N. (2017). Virginia Satir’s Family Education and Therapy Model. International Journal of Social Science Studies , 5 (12), 72-79.
