The contemporary family : accounts of resilience and mental health abstract

ABSTRACT: Objectives: To study the promotion of mental health at the family core. Methods: The starting point is the classical conception of family, in which the notion of structure plays a central role and it is represented by the concepts of typology and family functioning. We suggest that the concept of family should be extended in the light of the changes it has undergone and of several post-modern approaches. Five hypotheses were postulated to guide the proposed approach. Conclusions: The structural substrate in the conception of family is criticized. Instead, we propose that the family should be thought of as a confi guration, which is in turn assimilated to family resilience. We postulate that it is this assimilation which offers the possibilities for mental health promotion for both the family and each one of its members.RESUMEN: Acercarse al problema de la promoción de la salud mental en la experiencia familiar. Método: Se parte de la concepción clásica de familia, donde aparece como central la noción de estructura, representada por los conceptos de tipología y funcionamiento familiar. Se propone ampliar la idea de familia a la luz de los cambios que ha experimentado y de los planteamientos provenientes de la posmodernidad. Se postulan tres hipótesis que guían el abordaje al problema estudiado. Conclusiones: Se critica el sustrato estructural en la concepción de familia y se propone que esta sea pensada como confi guración. Al mismo tiempo, se asimila la confi guración familiar con el concepto de resiliencia familiar y se postula que en esto radican las posibilidades de promoción de la salud mental no sólo para la familia, sino para los sujetos que la componen