science

Strategic Family Therapy

Strategic Family Therapy is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Strategic Family Therapy rather than just read about it. In short: Strategic Family Therapy is a modality of family therapy that focuses on problem-solving in relationship dynamics and utilizing behavioral solutions to facilitate change in the family. There are three prominent models of Strategic Family Therapy, through the Mental Research Institute, the teachings of Jay Haley and Cloé Madanes, and the Milan Systemic Model as posited by Mara Selvini Palazzoli, Gianfranco Cecchin, L…

Key takeaways

Strategic Family Therapy belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Strategic Family Therapy to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Strategic Family Therapy from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Strategic Family Therapy is a modality of family therapy that focuses on problem-solving in relationship dynamics and utilizing behavioral solutions to facilitate change in the family. There are three prominent models of Strategic Family Therapy, through the Mental Research Institute, the teachings of Jay Haley and Cloé Madanes, and the Milan Systemic Model as posited by Mara Selvini Palazzoli, Gianfranco Cecchin, Luigi Boscolo, and Giuliana Prata.

Theoretical Frameworks Strategic Family Therapy emphasizes the constant communication in a system, even the withdrawing of vocal communication as a form of communicating. There is the function of a report and command, a report being the content of what is communicated, and the command referring to the relational pattern that contextualizes the report, such as how it is said or the indirect messages being implied by what is said or asked. These patterns develop into family rules, a concept that emerged from Structural Family Therapy: "family rules are defined as an invisible set of functional demands that persistently organizes the interaction of the family." Haley and Madanes focused heavily on the function of the symptoms presented on how they affect the family system. Family attempts to solve and decrease these symptoms can further perpetuate the issues if they are not successful. There is less emphasis on insight and more emphasis on behavioral change and noticing patterns of behavior that are perpetuated in feedback loops. The Strategic therapist works with the family on not only accomplishing First-Order Change (immediate behavioral change) but also Second-Order Change (changes in the structure, family rules, the system altogether that holds the behavioral issues in place). In other words, the system created by the family must be changed, or solutions for behavioral problems may not hold. Quoting Richard Niolon: "There are three models for problem development: a. cybernetic (runaway positive feedback loops) b. structural (flawed family hierarchies) c. functional (one member develops symptoms to control others) The MRI use only the cybernetic model, Haley and Madanes use all 3 but Haley stresses the structural and Madanes the functional, and the Milan's use both structural and functional. Example: Tommy is 16 and has recently refused to go out of the house. 1. MRI would focus on getting Tommy out, believing the parents attempted solutions kept him home. 2. Haley and Madanes would focus on the triadic relationship between Tommy and his 2 parents. Haley would wonder about the parents unresolved conflicts and marital struggles, Madanes would wonder about how Tommy staying home helped one or both of his parents. 3. Milan would focus on the family's history and hidden power struggles, or family games, in which Tommy is embedded and has to stay home to help a family member "win." Jay Haley and Salvador Minuchin influenced one another and have similarities in their approaches.

Uses

Strategic family therapy as a short-term form of family therapy can be utilized with youths who struggle with behavioral issues such as drug addiction and delinquency. Cloé Madanes has taken her Strategic approach and, in collaboration with Tony Robbins, Mark Peysha, and Magali Peysha, developed a coaching method initially known as Strategic Intervention.

See also Family therapy Jay Haley Cloé Madanes Mental Research Institute Mara Selvini Palazzoli Milton H. Erickson

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Strategic Family Therapy

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Strategic Family Therapy claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Strategic Family Therapy before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Strategic Family Therapy ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Strategic Family Therapy

In research: Strategic Family Therapy appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Strategic Family Therapy in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Strategic Family Therapy is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Family therapy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Strategic Family Therapy outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Strategic Family Therapy in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Strategic Family Therapy means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Strategic Family Therapy out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Strategic Family Therapy in simple terms?

Why does Strategic Family Therapy matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Strategic Family Therapy?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Strategic Family Therapy.