2011 lecture 1 and 2 introduction to systemic approaches and structural family therapy

8/2/2019 2011 Lecture 1 and 2 Introduction to Systemic Approaches and Structural Family Therapy

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Systemic Approaches to

Social Work Practice

Dr. Marie Keenan


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What constitutes a Systemic

Approach? Focus on Interpersonal Relationships

Individual experiences are understood and

explained in relational terms Problems and Pathology conceptualised as

fundamentally interpersonal as opposed to

individual Importance of Context

Past, Present and Future linked through time


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Importance of Language/meaning/beliefs in

the construction of particular versions of a

problem


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Individual distress no longer seen as only

the product of individuals psychology but

rather as a complex interactive process thatis understood in terms of relational

dynamics at many levels of context-

individual, relational, family, group,societal, cultural etc and it is constructed in

language


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Position of Worker

Non Expert positioning- Collaborative

Approach

Non Pathologisingsearch for Meaning

Non Objective positioning - Co-

construction of meaning

Worker as part of the system

Co-authors in shared story


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Position of the Worker

Power Position of the worker / Professional

discourses

Reflective and reflexive processes

Reflecting Teams

The therapy/help is in the question and in

the listening and attending / no need for biginterventions

Holding theory lightly


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Who is the Client in Social

Work ? Who is the Client of Social Work service?

What about treating people against theirwill?


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AGS Model addresses this issue:

The delivery of a service may be abusive ifyou do not make clear:

Who asks for what from Whom and forWhom?

And Who provides or executes what toWhom and for Whom and on whose behalf?


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Who is it that defines the situation as aproblem?

Or who is it that defines certain acts ashelpful?

Problem solving and aid presented as helpful andindisputable can hide an execution of power,

justify controversial interventions and enable the

violation of individuals and groups


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This is valid both in the relationshipbetween social institutions and citizens and

in the relationship between the socialworker and his/her clients

This way of thinking brings possibilities forgreater clarity in differentiating between thesocial workers contradictory tasks ofexecuting care and control


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Care and Control

Often ambiguity of the concepts

traditionally built into the system of social

work

Sometimes social workers have difficulty

uniting the double function of their

profession Often a harmful split between the functions

of care or service and control


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The split is harmful and may become abusive in

cases where social worker on discovery of certain

conditions lets the control and authority functiontake precedence over the service function, such

that social worker carries out actions against the

clients will


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Social worker can be trusted by client and thenturn from being a supporter to being a controller

Easy for social workers to gain confidence fromdistressed clients by being helpful and supportive

The confidence falsely received if the doublefunction of the social worker not explicitly statedand out in the open


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When double function out in the open

clients might behave more cautiously

towards social workers, and might be morewatchful in unveiling difficulties and

problems in their lives to them

Or indeed in letting them into their homes


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Policeinform people what they say may

be written down and used in evidence

against them- do social workers followsame practice?


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Parents Beware

When you ask for our services, social

workers will, without asking for permission,

assess how your children are doing.

They also have the right and the obligation

in certain circumstances to take yourchildren away from you if they think that

you cannot adequately provide for your

childrens needs


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Some Problems in Social

Work Client Relationships Stem from failure to clarify who is doing what for

whom.

Who is the social worker serving in any oneinstance

The social worker as a public servant executes theservices which the societys institutions, laws, andelected representatives define


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The social worker thus serves society when

he/she gives services to the public and when

he/she controls or exercises authority?

Is it either/or or both/and?


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AGS Model

Strives to highlight unequal relationships bystressing the exchange of service for

revenue Using terms:

Commissioner (Social worker, therapist,consultant)

Commission-giver (person who asks forhelp)

Commission (the task or goals)


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Commissioner

Puts oneself in serving position towards

commission giver

Gets ones authorisation from thecommission-giver

Carries out the commission with loyalty to

the commission-giver, who is the one whothe commissioner openly strives to satisfy


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Commission-giver

Defines the goal and approves the means for

the commission

Decides when the commission ends andwhether it has been executed satisfactorily


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Whom do We Serve?

1. Those who Hire and Pay us and whom

we must satisfy as long as we serve them

(Primary Commission Givers)?


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2. Those who sanction us to work with

A. Service Users(Secondary

Commission Givers)?

B. Target Persons - (Tertiary

Commission Givers)?


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When defining problems it is

important to know:-WHO is defining the situation as a

problem.

WHO agrees/disagrees?

Who is it a problem for?


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Introduction to Family

Therapy: Structural Approach

Dr. Marie Keenan


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Three Approaches to Family

TherapyStructure of Family (Structural

Family Therapy)

Strategic Family Therapy

Milan or Systemic Family Therapy

(although all family therapy

referred to as systemic)


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Phase 1: Cybernetics

The first phase 1950s to mid 1970s

Dissatisfaction with effectiveness of

psychoanalytic and individual therapies Emergence ofgeneral systems theory as a

model and its application to research onhuman interaction

Research on the role of communication inthe dev and maintenance of certain clinicalproblems e.g. schizophrenia


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Cybernetics


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2nd Phase: Constructivism

Mid 1970s to mid 1980s

Constructivism.how we construct the world

(G. Kelly)

Represented a change that was happeningoutside of family therapyin psychology

Cognitive revolutionfocus on cognition,

meaning, personal beliefs Focused on how people actively attempted to

form versions of the world which shaped theiractions


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Third Phase: Social

Constructionism The third phase mid 1980s to present day

Social Constructionism

Reflecting changes in sociology and

psychology

Families linked to wider social and political

context AND

Special focus on language, power,

knowledge creation


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All this thinking now integrated

Dominance of social constructionism

emphasis on power, language, howproblems are constructed

Deconstructing meaning

Belief systems and multiple explanations

for the problem

Structure can be useful for analysis of

situations


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Position of Worker

First Order CyberneticsObjective

Observer

Second Order Cybernetics- Part of theSystem


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Cybernetics of cybernetics

S


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Structural Approaches toFamily Therapy - Salvador

Minuchin Institutions vary in level of organization and

differentiation

Families likewise Families serve two functions:

Internal: Psychological protection of its

members External: Accommodation to a culture and

the transmission of that culture


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Matrix of Identity

Sense of belonging

Sense of being separate

The place in which these ingredients are

mixed is the familythe matrix of identity

Process of socializaionfamilies mold and

programme the childs behaviour and sense

of identity


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Separateness and

IndividuationOccurs through participation in

different subsystems in different

family contexts as well as through

the participation in extrafamilial

groups


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Being Tom is different from being a Jones


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Sense of Belonging

Individuals sense of identity influence by

his sense of belonging to different groups

Tom is the father of Paddy, husband of

Mary as well as the child of his parents


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The Societal Function

As well as being the matrix of identity thefamily must also accommodate to society

and ensure some continuity of its culture

Family influence by and at the same timeinfluences and shapes the culture

As the generic family changes and adaptsto historical circumstances, so too the

individual family constantly adapts


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Open System

The family is an open system in formation

Constantly receives and sends inputs to and from

the extrafamilial It adapts to the demands of the developmental

stages (marriage/birth of first child/leaving home

etc) it faces

Tasks not easy

Normal families experience stresses and strains


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Family Structure

Invisible set of functional demands that

organizes the ways in which family

members interact Repeated transactions establish patterns of

how, when and to whem to relate and these

patterns underpin the system Transactional patterns regulate behaviour


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Family subsystems

Family differentiates and carries out its

functions through subsystems

Individuals are subsystems within a family

Dyads such as husband / wife or mother

/child etc are subsystems

Subsystems formed by generation, sex,

interest or function


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Individuals belong to many different

subsystems


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Boundaries

Boundaries of a subsystem are the rules

defining who participates and how

For proper family functioning boundaries ofsubsystems must be clear

Temporary movement across subsystems as

long as lines of responsibility and authorityare clear e.g. grandmother/ elder child etc


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Rigid Boundaries .Disengaged (Overly

rigid boundaries)

Clear Boundaries (Normal Range)

Diffuse boundaries (Enmeshed)


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Theory of Structural Family

Therapy Operations at the extreme indicate areas of

possible pathology

2011 lecture 1 and 2 introduction to systemic approaches and structural family therapy

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