Abstract
The quote by the late, great comedian, George Burns, alludes to the individual vs. family dialectic that exists both in families and in the field of psychotherapy. Every one experiences a tension between their need for autonomy and their need for intimacy: to differentiate an identity separate from one’s family, but still remain connected with them. With a few exceptions, e.g., Adler’s child guidance clinics and the family focus of social workers, psychotherapy has focused on the individual during its first 50 years. The family was of interest only as experienced and internalized by the individual. Sullivan began the shift from a monadic to a dyadic focus when he conceptualized psychopathology as a process occurring between two people and ushered in the interpersonal school of psychotherapy. Problems with others develop from maladaptive caregiver and child interactions instead of being located in the “identified patient.” Family theorists took the next step in the 1950s with a triadic focus. Instead of a monadic focus on problems within the person or a dyadic focus on what happens between client and therapist, they worked with at least three people in the room: therapist, child, parents, and perhaps other children or family.
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Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.
George Burns (1896–1996)
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Further Reading
Anonymous. (1972). Toward the differentiation of a self in one’s own family. In J. L. Framo (Ed.), Family interaction: A dialogue between family researchers and family therapists. New York: Springer.
Minuchin, S., Nichols, M. P., & Lee, W.-Y. (2007). Assessing families and couples: From symptom to system. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Napier, A. Y., & Whitaker, C. A. (1978). The family crucible. New York: Bantam Books.
Nichols, M. P. (2009). The essentials of family therapy (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Videos
Alexander, J. F. Functional family therapy. Part of the Relationships APA Psychotherapy Video Series.
Angus, L. Narrative Therapy. Part of the Systems of Psychotherapy APA Psychotherapy Video Series.
Greenberg, L. S. Emotionally focused therapy with couples. Part of the Relationships APA Psychotherapy Video Series.
Heitler, S. The angry couple: Conflict focused treatment. Denver: TherapyHelp. http://www.therapyhelp.com/marriage.htm.
McDaniel, S. H. (2009). Family therapy over time. Part of the Psychotherapy in Six Sessions APA Psychotherapy Video Series.
McGoldrick, M. The legacy of unresolved loss: A family systems approach. The Multicultural Family Institute.
Websites
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy: www.aamft.org/.
Bowen Center for the Study of the Family: www.thebowencenter.org/index.html
Minuchin Center for the Family: www.minuchincenter.org/http://www.multiculturalfamily.org/publications/videos/the_legacy_of_unresolved_loss.html
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Fromme, D.K. (2011). Family Systems and Couples Approaches. In: Systems of Psychotherapy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7308-5_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7308-5_12
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