DOCSLIB.ORG

Understanding Trauma in Guatemala

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Understanding Trauma in Guatemala UNDERSTANDING TRAUMA IN GUATEMALA: A CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF APPLIED AND PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY OF RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY BY JEFFERY BUCHANAN BRAND IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY OCTOBER, 2015 APPROVED: ___________________________ Monica Indart, Psy.D. ___________________________ Dan Fishman, Ph.D. DEAN: ___________________________ Stan Messer, Ph.D. Copyright 2015 by Jeff Brand Abstract This study provides a qualitative analysis of how a sample of Guatemalan psychologists conceptualize and work with psychological trauma. Ten psychologists living and working in Guatemala completed semi-structured interviews developed by the researcher to investigate their conceptualization(s) and clinical experience of treating trauma. Participants also answered a brief demographic questionnaire about their clinical training and professional practice. Interviews were analyzed for themes, which were grouped into meta-themes around four main areas: re-experiencing memories, unformulated emotional distress, hyperarousal and loss of meaning/connection. Selected interviews were also analyzed holistically as “cases” to examine how the internal logic and assumptions of each perspective varied. Different conceptual models of trauma emerged, and given the diversity of ideas, it is not possible to talk about ideas of a “Guatemalan model” of trauma. While primary themes showed some similarities to occidental ideas, the research also reveals how different participants employ multiple different concepts, each with different organizing assumptions. This includes use of alternative therapies (i.e., energy-based therapies), spiritual elements, social psychologies and interpersonal perspectives. Established trauma concepts— such as PTSD— import their own organizing assumptions, which may or may not be consistent with the basic assumptions of different cultures. Participants’ ideas showcase how trauma concepts can evolve to become more culturally syntonic with different worldviews. An original theoretical framework is proposed for analyzing trauma concepts cross culturally. While the study of trauma may recognize common themes or similarities, cultural sensitivity requires greater awareness of philosophical differences. While not mutually exclusive, the professional mandate to provide evidence-based treatments may potentially come into conflict with the equally important mandate to provide culturally sensitive ii care. When it comes to treating trauma, pluralism in concepts proves indispensable if the field hopes to uphold its multicultural values. iii Acknowledgements Very often, a work upon completion can seem as if it stands alone. Certainly in the writing and the scholarship, one hopes that it has a coherence and an integrity that allows it to make its own contributions. In that way, it tends to focus on the outcome, even at the expense of knowing how it all came together. Without exaggeration, I see this work as fruit off the vine of everything I have ever learned. Certainly, it would have never been possible without the formative influence of Chris Latiolais, who deserves the credit for what I understand about philosophy. Any misunderstandings in this arena are sorely my own, as he remains a remarkable and wiling teacher. As a clinician, I owe so much to my professors at GSAPP, my supervisors, and my former colleagues at Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs. Monica Indart was a stabilizing force for this project as my dissertation chair, and Dan Fishman contributed with his insightful comments. Don Morgan lent a spark through personal introductions and his timely encouragement. Perhaps one of the most indispensable people in this project was Maria del Pilar Grazioso and the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude. There are a great many other people who deserve to be mentioned (in alphabetical order): Andres Consoli, Nick Copeland, Angelina Snodgrass Godoy, Finn Kjaerulf, John Linstroth, Jimmy Reyna, Elizabeth Rohr, Celines Villalba and Erika Wassell— each of whom contributed in unique and important ways. On a very personal level, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of the participants in this study who took the time to share their thoughts with me. You have taught me so much, and please know that I did my best to represent your words and thoughts with the same respect and admiration that I hold for each of you. I want to thank Dan Braman, Mariana Torres-Viso, and "the Council” for their support as colleagues and friends. To my family, I love you very much and I hope you take a feeling of pride in this effort, iv knowing that it would never have come to be without your support both in my life and during this long, winding process. I want to recognize the people of Guatemala who have suffered so much and yet still find strength and beauty in their lives— a testament to resilience that I hope is represented here. And lastly, I dedicate this work to Kate, for all the reasons that you know and because there are so many things we will never know. v Table of Contents Page Abstract ......................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgments......................................................................................................iv Table of Contents ......................................................................................................v List of Tables .............................................................................................................viii Chapter Introduction ...........................................................................................1 I. History of Trauma & PTSD ..................................................................16 History of PTSD ...................................................................................30 II. Research Review of PTSD....................................................................42 Review of Clinical Interventions ..........................................................60 III. Constructive Criticism of the PTSD Diagnosis and Revisions to the DSM 5 .................................................................74 Empirical Foundations ..........................................................................84 Heterogeneity ................................................................................87 Dimensionality .......................................................................93 IV. Paradigmatic Criticism of the PTSD Diagnosis and Trans-Cultural Psychiatry ..............................................................99 V. Core Conceptual Assumptions of Trauma Concepts: A Theoretical Framework .....................................................................121 Question of Reference...........................................................................126 Question of Suffering ....................................................................133 Question of Etiology ..............................................................143 vi Question of Response ...................................................152 Interlocking Issues ...............................................158 VI. Implications of A Post-Modern Perspective on Trauma ......................162 VII. An Introduction to Guatemala, Its People and Its Cultures ..................184 VIII. Research Methods .................................................................................215 Recruitment and Data Collection ..........................................................214 Development of Research Methods ..............................................219 Data Analysis .........................................................................221 IX. An Analysis of Themes .........................................................................225 Sample Characteristics ..........................................................................225 Professional Practice .....................................................................226 Trauma Concepts ...................................................................234 Clinical Intervention .....................................................242 X. Analysis of “Cases”: Examples of Diverse Trauma Concepts .............251 Case 05 ..................................................................................................251 Case 03 ..........................................................................................258 Case 09 ...................................................................................266 XI. An Integrated Analysis: Perspectives on Context & Development ......279 XII. Discussion .............................................................................................293 Reviewing & Understanding the Results ..............................................293 Cross-Cultural Perspectives & Integrating Science .......................298 Hypotheses on Cross Cultural Practice ..................................305 Alternative Explanations, Implications & Anticipated Criticism ...............................................320 vii Limitations & Future Research ...........................328 Conclusion ............................................................................................333 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................341
Load more

Recommended publications
  • T~~E Evolution of Psychotherapy. a Conference
    T~~E EvoluTioN of PsycHOTHERApy. SM A CoNfERENCE. Sponsored by The Milton H. Erickson Foundation Cosponsored by University of California, Irvine-Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior California State University, Fullerton-Department of Psychology December 12-16, 1990 Anaheim, California FEATURING: Beck, Bugental, Ellis, Glasser, M. Goulding, Haley, Hillman, Kaplan, Lazarus, Lowen, Madanes, Marmor, Masterson, May, Meichenbaum, Minuchin, Palazzoli, E. Polster, M. Polster, Rossi, Szasz, Watzlawick, Whitaker, Wolpe and Zeig. KEYNOTE ADDRESSES Viktor Frankl Betty Friedan PsycheScapes= Positions & Projections Featuring: Aaron Beck, M.D. James Bugental, Ph.D. Albert Ellis, Ph.D. William Glasser, M.D. Mary Goulding, M.S.W. Jay Haley, M.A. James Hillman, Ph.D. Helen Singer Kaplan, M.D., Ph.D. Arnold Lazarus, Ph.D. Alexander Lowen, M.D. Cloe Madanes, Lie. Psychol. Judd Marmor, M.D., Ph.D. James Masterson, M.D. Rollo May, Ph.D. Donald Meichenbaum, Ph.D. Salvador Minuchin, M.D. Mara Selvini Palazzoli, M.D. Erving Polster, Ph.D. Miriam Polster, Ph.D. Ernest Rossi, Ph.D. Thomas Szasz, M.D. Paul Watzlawick, Ph.D. Carl Whitaker, M.D. Joseph Wolpe, M.D. Jeffrey Zeig, Ph.D. This second Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference, PsycheScapes: Positions and Projections, is dedicated to those presenters from the 1985 Conference who cannot be with us here, but who will always be with us in spirit. Their wisdom and contributions have added to the well-being of humankind. Bruno Bettelheim Murray Bowen Ronald D. Laing Carl Rogers Virginia Satir Lewis Walberg And to Robert Goulding who could not attend the Conference due to ill health. THE HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FRED HUNTER, Mayor IRV PICKLER, Mayor Pro Tern MIRIAM KAYWOOD, Councilwoman WILLIAM D.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Family Therapy
    AA01_GLAD8906_06_SE_FM.indd01_GLAD8906_06_SE_FM.indd PagePage iiiiii 29/03/1429/03/14 7:327:32 PMPM//205/PH01382/9780133488906_GLADDING/GLADDING_FAMILY_THERAPY6_SE_9780133488906/SE/2 f-w-155-userf0-w5-/P15H50-1u3s8e2r /9780133488906_GLADDING/GLADDING_FAMILY_THERAPY6_SE_9780133488906/SE/ ...... PREFACE PHILOSOPHY Therapeutic work with families is a recent scientific phenomenon but an ancient art. Throughout human history, designated persons in all cultures have helped couples and families cope, adjust, and grow. In the United States, the interest in assisting families within a healing context began in the 20th century and continues into the 21st. Family life has always been of interest, but because of economic, social, political, and spiritual val- ues, outsiders made little direct intervention, except for social work, into ways of helping family functioning until the 1950s. Now, there are literally thousands of professionals who focus their attention and skills on improving family dynamics and relationships. In examining how professionals work to assist families, the reader should keep in mind that there are as many ways of offering help as there are kinds of families. How- ever, the most widely recognized methods are counseling, therapy, educational enrich- ment, and prevention. The general umbrella term for remediation work with families is family therapy . This concept includes the type of work done by family professionals who identify themselves by different titles, including marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, pastoral counselors, and clergy. Family therapy is not a perfect term; it is bandied about by a number of professional associations, such as the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), the American Counseling Association (ACA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
    [Show full text]
  • FAMILY THERAPY Concepts and Methods
    FAMILY THERAPY CONCEPTS AND METHODS A01_NICH3062_12_SE_FM.indd 1 17/12/2019 20:51 A01_NICH3062_12_SE_FM.indd 2 17/12/2019 20:51 Twelfth Edition FAMILY THERAPY CONCEPTS AND METHODS Michael P. Nichols College of William and Mary Sean D. Davis Alliant International University A01_NICH3062_12_SE_FM.indd 3 17/12/2019 20:51 Please contact https://support.pearson.com/getsupport/s/contactsupport with any queries on this content Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2013 by Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates, 221 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise. For information regarding permissions, request forms, and the appropriate contacts within the Pearson Education Global Rights and Permissions department, please visit www.pearsoned. com/permissions/. Acknowledgments of third-party content appear on the appropriate page within the text. PEARSON, ALWAYS LEARNING, REVEL, and MYLAB are exclusive trademarks owned by Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. Unless otherwise indicated herein, any third-party trademarks, logos, or icons that may appear in this work are the property of their respective owners, and any references to third-party trademarks, logos, icons, or other trade dress are for demonstrative or descriptive purposes only. Such references are not intended to imply any sponsorship, endorsement, authorization, or promotion of Pearson’s products by the owners of such marks, or any relationship between the owner and Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates, authors, licensees, or distributors.
    [Show full text]
  • The Alcoholic Family and Larger Systems : a Systemic Assessment of Interactional Patterns and Metaphoric Communication
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1983 The alcoholic family and larger systems : a systemic assessment of interactional patterns and metaphoric communication. Dusty, Miller University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Miller, Dusty,, "The alcoholic family and larger systems : a systemic assessment of interactional patterns and metaphoric communication." (1983). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 2208. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/2208 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE ALCOHOLIC FAMILY AND LARGER SYSTEMS: A SYSTEMIC ASSESSMENT OF INTERACTIONAL PATTERNS AND METAPHORIC COMMUNICATION A Dissertation Presented By DUSTY MILLER Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION May 1 983 Education Dusty Miller © All Rights Reserved THE ALCOHOLIC FAMILY AND LARGER SYSTEMS: A SYSTEMIC ASSESSMENT OF INTERACTIONAL PATTERNS AND METAPHORIC COMMUNICATION A Dissertation Presented By DUSTY MILLER Approved as to style and content by: Evan Imber Coppersmith, Chairperson of Committee Charlotte Rahaim, Member Theodore Slovin, Member Hariharan Swaminathan, Department Head School of Education i i i . ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my teacher and mentor, Dr. Evan Irnber Coppersmith for her professional support, personal encouragement and endless challenges provided over the past three years. I would also like to thank Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Jay Haley Collection, 1957-2007 M1733
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6870384x No online items Guide to the Jay Haley Collection, 1957-2007 M1733 Andrea Castillo Department of Special Collections and University Archives July 2011 Green Library 557 Escondido Mall Stanford 94305-6064 [email protected] URL: http://library.stanford.edu/spc Guide to the Jay Haley Collection, M1733 1 1957-2007 M1733 Language of Material: English Contributing Institution: Department of Special Collections and University Archives Title: Jay Haley collection creator: Haley, Jay source: Richeport-Haley, Madeleine Identifier/Call Number: M1733 Physical Description: 28 Linear Feet(55 boxes) Date (inclusive): 1957-2007 Abstract: The Jay Haley collection, consisting of 28 linear feet and spanning from the 1950s to 2007, documents Haley’s career through correspondence, papers, book typescripts, and media materials. Among Haley’s papers documenting his multiple professional activities are his writings on: psychotherapy as a profession; teaching therapy; studies on Milton H. Erickson M. D.; the Bateson Project; marriage and family therapy; schizophrenia; his work with the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, and his activities as editor for the Journal Family Process. The collection also includes Haley’s fiction writings, and his training films on topics such as: strategic and family therapy, Milton H. Erickson M.D., documentation of specific cases, and trance and dance in Bali. Physical Description: The collection contains paper and audio visual materials Access to Collection Accession 2009-287 is conditionally open for research, with written authorization required in accordance with Special Collections and University Archives Access to Health Information of Individuals Policy. Also case studies in series 3.3 and 8.5 are closed and will be available one hundred years from the date of creation.
    [Show full text]
  • Structural Family Therapy
    CHAPTER 12 Structural Family Therapy She flips through a magazine on the blue-striped couch sometimes entertained but often bored, while he gulps down popcorn and televised football, feeling occasionally excited yet often empty. At midnight when the lights go off and the news of the day and the games are decided, She lays in anticipation, but without hope, of his touch while he tackles fullbacks in his sleep and ignores his needs and hers. Alone, they together form a couple, together, all alone, they long for a relationship. Gladding, 1991c CHAPTER OVERVIEW From reading this chapter, you will learn about ■ Why structural family therapy was created and the importance of boundaries and hierarchies in this approach. ■ The major theorists, premises, techniques, roles of the therapist, processes, and outcomes of structural family therapy. ■ The uniqueness of the structural family therapy approach. As you read, consider ■ What type of family boundaries and subsystems were most prevalent in your family of origin. ■ The feminist argument that structural family therapy promotes sexual stereotypes. ■ How comfortable you would be acting like a theater director if you were a structural family therapist. 297 298 Part 2 • Therapeutic Approaches to Working with Families tructural family therapy was initially based on the experiences of Salvador Minuchin and his colleagues at the Wiltwyck School, a residential facility in Esopus, New SYork, for inner-city delinquents. The treatment was created out of necessity. Long- term, passive, and historically based approaches to working with the families of these children proved unsuccessful ( Piercy, Sprenkle, & Wetchler, 1997 ). The active and often aggressive nature of family members at the Wiltwyck School and their tendencies to blame others and react immediately meant therapists had to be powerful and quick.
    [Show full text]
  • The Spiritual Approach to Systemic Family Therapies
    SPIRITUAL PSYCHOLOGY AND COUNSELING spiritualpc.net / 2020 Volume: 5 Number: 1 Original Article The Spiritual Approach to Systemic Family Therapies Hasan Kütük1 Ph.D. Candidate 1 Ph.D. Candidate, Marmara University, İstanbul, 34722, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract The concept of spirituality has started being included in therapy settings due to the new paradigms showing developments in the world of psychology in the late 20th century and in the 21st century. When examining the literature, many articles and books are seen to have been published related to the topic, and most of the studies have been carried out abroad. These performed studies have contributed new concepts and information to the literature by revealing how the concept of spirituality can be integrated with family therapies. This study has been prepared for the purposes of drawing the attention of researchers who conduct studies in Turkey based on systemic family therapy and of specialists who plan therapy sessions based the relevant theory to the topic and to provide the literature with a topic that finds no examples in the literature of Turkey. How the concept of spirituality can be used in harmony with the systemic family therapy approach and what the techniques of the spirituality-based systemic family therapy are have been prepared by being based on the many studies that have been published abroad. Before beginning the study, theoretical information and basic concepts primarily about systemic family therapies are provided, and then it moves on to spirituality-oriented systemic family therapy by briefly mentioning the concept of spirituality. How the concept of spirituality can be applied to systemic family therapy and the points and ethical situations to which counselors need to pay attention are also mentioned.
    [Show full text]
  • Psychosomatic Families
    Psychosomatic Families Psychosomatic Families Anorexia Nervosa in Context Salvador Minuchin Bernice L. Rosman Lester Baker With a Contribution by Ronald Liebman HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England Copyright © 1978 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America This book has been digitally reprinted. The content remains identical to that ofprevious printings. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Minchin, Salvador. Psychosomatic families. Includes index. 1. Anorexia nervosa. 2. Medicine, Psychosomatic. 3. Family psychotherapy. I. Rosman, Bernice L., joint author. II. Baker, Lester, joint author. III. Title. RC552.A5M56 616.8'5 78-1742 ISBN 0-674-72220-5 To the first diabetic children Karen, Patricia, and Deborah who forced us to look at the critical role of the family in psychosomatic disease Acknowledgments This book is the end result of ten years of research on families with psychosomatic children, supported by Grants NIMH 21336 and NIH AM 13518. The research on the children who were hospitalized in the Clinical Research Center of the Children's Hos­ pital of Philadelphia as part of this study was supported by Grant NIH RR240. The authors of the book represent an interdisciplinary team: psychiatrist, pediatrician, and psychologist. Yet the contributions of these individuals represented far more than the sum of their areas of expertise. In the process of working together, we developed a system of differentiated but interdependent parts. The psychiatric input was enhanced by the contribution of Ronald Liebman, M.D., who wrote Chapter 10 and was the therapist for a number of the cases followed in the outcome study.
    [Show full text]
  • Portugal Site for 2008 World Congress November 30 - Early Registration Begins, October 31 - Deadline for Abstract Submission
    The International Family Therapy Association Volume 21, Number 1, Februry 2008 Portugal Site for 2008 World Congress November 30 - Early Registration Begins, October 31 - Deadline for Abstract Submission The 2008 World Family Therapy Congress Costa (Portugal) specializes in opens in Porto, Portugal March 26. intimacy and family therapy; Valentín 2008 World Family Therapy This is IFTA’s 16th World Congress. The Escudero (Spain) is interested in Congress Scientific and Congress organized around the theme of therapeutic alliances in couple and Transformation and Globalizations: Family family therapy; Lynn Hoffman (USA) Hosting Committee Named Therapy in the 21st Century. The Congress is a leading thinker and practitioner in program will include IFTA’s traditional the field of family therapy; Esher Perel The Scientific and Hosting Committees plenaries, workshops, short presentations (USA) focuses on cultural identity and of the 16th World Family Therapy and posters, according to Judith Landau, cross-cultural issues; Rosa Maria S. Congress have been busy planning the IFTA President. Macedo (Brazil) specializes in family Congress. The Scientific Committee therapy training; and Daniel Sampaio is in charge of arranging the speakers and the workshop. “The Scientific Pre- Congress workshops start the (Portugal), is a well-known author and Committee is comprised of 13 includes Congress on Wednesday, March 26. professor. individuals from a variety of countries,” The workshop themes and presenters are: said Dr. Northey, Chair of Congresses. n Nurturing Hidden Resilience across The World Family Therapy Congress Cultures and Contexts; has a rich history of bringing together The Scientific Committee is co- Michael Ungar the greatest clinicians from the chaired by William F.
    [Show full text]
  • Terapia Familiar Sistemica Pdf Minuchin
    Terapia familiar sistemica pdf minuchin Continue Family therapy Heloisa Szymanski Ribeiro Gomez Professor Depto. Psychology of the Catholic University of Santos - SEME Therapy SP is a new form of work in our country, although already adopted about 30 years ago in North America and Europe. This is a new offer to participate in both parents, children and even grandparents and uncles, and, if necessary, even neighborhood and school groups (Speck and Attneave, 1976). The reason for the inclusion of the whole family in the treatment of adjustment problems is based on the fact that what happens in a person living in a family, not only because of the internal conditions for him, but also because of the intensive exchange with the wider context in which it is inserted. It not only gets the impact of this environment, but it acts on it, influencing it. In this approach, the terrain pathology, as Minuchin (1982) says, is a family. In a dysfunctional family group, the ways of interaction between its members crystallize either in the form of distancing or excessive interference in each other's lives, forming alliances between one member, leaving others peripheral, or turning others into scapegoats (usually a child). Symptoms such as poor school performance, aggressiveness, depression are treated as own symptomatic individuals, and this is seen as an isolated case. Against this background, sick families are gradually failing in their basic family functions (Carneiro, T., 1983). In terms of communication, the symptomatic family loses itself in criticism, accusations, silence, double messages: there are many difficulties in putting each other in place and rigidity in trying new ways to solve problems.
    [Show full text]
  • Interaction Focused Therapy the Don Jackson Legacy
    Brief Strategic and Systemic Therapy European Review N. 1 - 2004 Interaction Focused Therapy The Don Jackson Legacy Wendel A. Ray ¹-² Abstract Don D. Jackson was one of the most prolific pioneers of the family and brief therapy, the founder of this discipline. This pioneering work was carried out by Jackson and his colleagues around the 1950s and the 1960s, first together with G. Bateson and then at the Mental Research Institute. His works still influences most of the systemic approaches of therapy still in use till the very day: from the brief therapy model developed after the death of Jackson at M.R.I. to the strategic work of Jay Haley and Cloe Madanes, from the structural model developed by Salvador Minuchin, to the work of the Milan School and the solution-focused therapy of De Shazer. The author revisits Jackson’s career, which was brought to an end at an age of 48 years by a tragic and unexpected death, recollecting his successes and his contributions in the founding of the International Theory and its application to brief and family therapy. The cybernetic model together with the basic notions regarding systems, social constructivism, the use of circular questioning and others are only a fragment of the influence generated by Jackson on the majority of the brief and family therapy models. Just like clay that holds together the foundation blocks, Jackson’s contributions continue to be the cohesive element that bounds most of our present systemic approaches- these act as a testimony of the vitality, the courage and the far-sighting vision of Don D.
    [Show full text]
  • Structural Family Therapy 1
    JORGE COLAPINTO Structural Family Therapy 1 DEFINITION Structural family therapy is a model of treatment based on systems theory that was developed primarily at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, under the leadership of Salvador Minuchin, over the last 15 years. The model‟s distinctive features are its emphasis on structural change as the main goal of therapy, which acquires preeminence over the details of individual change, and the attention paid to the therapist as an active agent in the process of restructuring the family. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT Structural family therapy was the child of necessity, or so the student may conclude in tracing the origins of the movement back to the early l960s, to the time when Salvador Minuchin was doing therapy, training, and research at the Wiltwyck School for Boys in New York. Admittedly, our historical account does not need to start precisely there, but the development of a treatment model—no less than the development of an individual or a family—can only be told by introducing a certain punctuation and discarding alternative ones. It would be possible to choose a more distant point in time and focus on Minuchin‟s experience in the newborn Israel, where families from all over the world converged carrying their bits of common purpose and their lots of regional idiosyn- crasies, and found a unique opportunity to live the combination of cultural universals and cultural specifics. Or, reaching further back, one could think of Minuchin‟s childhood as the son of a Jewish family in the rural Argentina of the 1920s, and wonder about the influence of this early exposure to alternative cultures— different rules, different truths— on his conception of human nature.
    [Show full text]