Die persoon in die sisteem : kritiek op gesinsterapie

M.A. (Clinical Psychology)Family therapy offers an alternative to traditional psychotherapeutic ways of treatment. It becomes possible for the clinician to conceptualize the family as a system and to observe the patterns and interrelations in the family. Therapy is thus focused on the family as a whole and not on the individual in isolation. The family therapist sees maladaptive behaviour as functional for the family system in which it occurs, and aims therapeutic interventions at the family as a whole. The danger exists however, that because of his conceptualization, the family therapist can neglect the individual in therapy. The individual is seen mainly as a subsystem of the family and less attention is paid to the psychology of the individual. This can lead to a situation where the world of experience of the individual as well as the meaning of the symptomatology for the individual become neglected. This can lessen the effectiveness of family therapy and can lead to individuals feeling as if their experiences are not understood and their emotions not acknowledged. Through the integration of elements such as empathic understanding and unconditional acceptance from the traditions of individual therapy, it becomes possible for the clinician to attend more to the individual in family therapy