What is Structural Family Therapy (SFT)?

Written by Tretbar Therapy

Updated 2 weeks ago

When exploring family therapy options, you may encounter Structural Family Therapy (SFT). This influential approach, developed by Salvador Minuchin, focuses on understanding and reorganizing the "structure" of a family – the patterns of interaction, roles, and rules that shape family life. SFT aims to resolve problems by changing the underlying family organization. This article provides an overview of SFT, who it can help, and what to expect.

Understanding Structural Family Therapy (SFT)

Structural Family Therapy (SFT) views the family as a system with an underlying structure that determines how its members interact. This structure includes:

• Family Rules: Spoken or unspoken guidelines about how family members should behave and relate to each other.
• Roles: The parts individuals play within the family (e.g., "the responsible one," "the peacemaker," "the troublemaker").
• Subsystems: Smaller groupings within the family, such as the parental subsystem (parents), sibling subsystem (children), or spousal subsystem (couple).
• Boundaries: Emotional and physical barriers that protect the separateness and autonomy of individuals and subsystems. Boundaries can be clear, rigid (disengaged), or diffuse (enmeshed).
• Hierarchies: The levels of authority and decision-making power within the family, particularly between parents and children.

SFT proposes that family problems often arise when the family structure is dysfunctional – for example, when boundaries are too weak or too rigid, when hierarchies are unclear, or when families struggle to adapt their structure to changing circumstances (like a new baby, adolescence, or loss).

Who Can Benefit from SFT?

SFT is particularly effective for issues directly impacting family dynamics and for problems where an individual's symptoms are seen as being maintained or influenced by the family system. It can be beneficial for:

• Families with Child or Adolescent Behavioral Problems: Such as defiance, acting out, school issues. SFT is well-known for its effectiveness with these concerns.
• Families Experiencing Conflict and Communication Breakdowns.
• Blended Families: Navigating the complexities of new roles and relationships.
• Families with Enmeshment: Where boundaries are too diffuse, leading to a lack of individual autonomy.
• Families with Disengagement: Where boundaries are too rigid, leading to emotional distance and lack of support.
• Families Struggling with Life Cycle Transitions: Adjusting to events like marriage, birth of children, children leaving home, or loss.
• Families Where a Member has Psychosomatic Symptoms: Where physical symptoms might be linked to family stress.
• Parenting Challenges: Establishing clear parental authority and effective discipline.

Key Goals and Techniques in SFT

The primary goal of SFT is to help the family restructure itself in a way that promotes healthier functioning. Therapists use several active techniques:

1. Joining and Accommodating: The therapist initially connects with the family by respecting their way of interacting and adapting to their style. This builds trust and allows the therapist to understand the family's structure from the inside.
2. Mapping the Family Structure: The therapist observes and assesses the family's interaction patterns, boundaries, subsystems, and hierarchy to create a "map" of their current structure.
3. Enactment: The therapist may ask the family to discuss a problem or interact as they normally would in the session. This allows the therapist to observe the dysfunctional patterns firsthand and intervene in the moment.
4. Highlighting and Modifying Interactions: The therapist points out problematic interaction patterns as they occur and helps the family try out new ways of relating.
5. Boundary Making: Techniques to help strengthen diffuse boundaries (e.g., encouraging individuals to speak for themselves) or loosen rigid boundaries (e.g., facilitating more direct communication and support).
6. Unbalancing: Temporarily supporting one individual or subsystem to shift power dynamics and challenge rigid patterns.
7. Restructuring: Interventions designed to change the family's rules, roles, and hierarchies. This might involve strengthening the parental subsystem, clarifying roles, or creating more appropriate boundaries.
8. Reframing: Helping the family see their problems or behaviors in a new, more constructive light, often by shifting the focus from an individual "problem" to a systemic pattern.

What Does SFT Look Like in Therapy?

SFT therapists are typically active and directive in sessions.

• Observation: The therapist pays close attention to how family members interact, not just what they say.
• In-Session Interventions: Change often happens through direct interventions within the therapy session as patterns unfold.
• Focus on Action: Less emphasis on insight alone and more on changing interactional behaviors.
• The Whole Family: Ideally, all relevant family members participate, especially in the initial stages, though SFT principles can be applied even if not everyone attends.
• Challenging the Status Quo: The therapist will gently but firmly challenge dysfunctional patterns to create opportunities for change.

Benefits of SFT

Structural Family Therapy can lead to:

• Improved family communication and reduced conflict.
• Clearer roles and expectations within the family.
• More appropriate boundaries between family members and subsystems.
• A stronger and more effective parental team.
• Reduction in problematic behaviors, especially in children and adolescents.
• Increased family cohesion and support.
• Greater adaptability of the family to stress and change.

Is SFT Right for My Family?

SFT might be a suitable approach if:

• Your family is experiencing persistent conflict or unhelpful patterns of interaction.
• Problems with a child or adolescent seem to be linked to broader family dynamics.
• You feel "stuck" in certain family roles or ways of relating.
• You are looking for a therapy that actively works to change how your family functions together.

A consultation with a therapist trained in SFT can help determine if this approach is the best fit for your family's specific needs.