Structural Family Therapy

Structural family therapy is a systemic model of therapy developed by Salvador Minuchin in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the most influential in the field of family therapy, its distinctive features are the decisive role attributed to the family both in accounting for the behavioral problems of its members and in working toward their resolution, and the responsibility placed on the therapist as a catalyst of change.

Historical Context

In the early 1960s, Minuchin was the intake psychiatrist at the Wiltwyck School for Boys, a residential facility in Upstate New York for juvenile delinquents from the inner city. Looking for an alternative to traditional psychotherapeutic approaches that did not seem to help that population, Minuchin turned his attention to the youngsters’ families. He noted that parenting ...

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