Joining in Structure Family Therapy

Psycho-Analytical Family Therapy This report will offer a brief treatise on psycho-analytical family therapy. However, there will first be a bit of a zooming out to the broader subject and fomulations of psycho-analytical therapy in general. The definition of what the therapy is, what it entails, what it involves and how it all works will all be explained. The ostensible forefathers of the technique will be discussed as well as what happens in the related sessions.

While psychoanalytical therapy is not for everyone and/or for all situations, there are times where it can do a lot of good. In general terms, psychoanalytic therapy is "one of the most well-known treatment modalities." However, it is also one of the most misunderstood and misperceived by those people that analyze and kvetch about it. The overall modality of psychoanalytic therapy was crafted by the notorious work of Sigmund Freud. He was the one who founded the school of thought known as psychoanalysis.

He also worked heavily with the ideas of a man named Charcot. The process of psychoanalysis often centers on the centering on childhood experiences and how they have led to a person being the adult that they are today. People that enter into psychoanalytic therapy can be involved in it for weeks, months or even years. Psychoanalytic therapists, whether they be family therapists or some other persuasion, often spend a lot of their time listening to patients talk and express feelings about their lives and the feelings associated with them.

Upsides to psychoanalytic therapy include that there is an empathetic and non-judgmental environment and the talking through of issues can lead to self-revelations and new directions. However, the time and money it can take to get to these points can turn off a lot of people (Cherry, 2015).

When it comes specifically to family therapy along the lines above, there is the concept of "joining." As explained by Psychology Today, the concept of "joining" means that the therapist respects and/or listens carefully to every person that is in the room from the family. In other words, parents and children are given equal footing, at least at first, to give their viewpoint and say what they have on their mind. This does not mean that the therapist will not ask for adjustments and changes.

For example, the therapist might ask the parent to change certain aspects of their parenting style up to and including punishing a child a certain way, not punishing the child a certain way and so forth. For each interview, there may be times where everyone is present or there may be times where only certain people in the family are present. Regardless, there has to be a therapeutic alliance and level of trust between the therapist and the people that are being treated.

Change is brought about by that trust being executed in such as a way so as to learn where the problems are coming from and how to solve them (Wedge, 2015; MCF, 2015) Conclusion The start of any family therapy process is recognizing that there is a problem and finding someone that can facilitate a solution to the problem.