Mental health articles

Psychotherapy from a Family Systems Perspective
Several important points should be made about using a family systems
perspective. First, family systems theory is a point of view from which a clinician
conducts treatment, whether the clinician sees individuals, couples, or
families. Th is perspective does not defi ne the number of people who are in the room, but rather describes a paradigm that understands human problems as
rooted in relationships (Bowen, 1978). Second, the importance of the family
system to the college student is not diminished when the student lives away
from the family. Rather than signaling dissolution of family infl uence, leaving
home refl ects a new stage in the family’s development. Th e way in which
separation occurs infl uences students’ adjustment to challenges at college
and in the future. Th ird, a deterioration of a student’s functioning at college
may refl ect disturbance in the family system. As the cases we shall shortly
discuss demonstrate, students who come to college counselors struggling
with managing anxiety or some other symptom oft en have families of origin
that have comparable problems. Finally, the family systems approach can be
combined with other theoretical orientations and interventions. Th e cases in
this chapter show successful integration between family treatment and behavioral
approaches, academic counseling, relaxation methods, psychodynamic
approaches, and psychopharmacological treatment.
College clinicians who work from a family systems perspective will focus on
the adjustment of students, their relationships to parents and other signifi cant
family members, and the functioning of these family members. Clinicians will
also be sensitive to students’ other relationship systems, including relationships
with roommates, romantic and sexual partners, and others on campus.
Family problems inevitably manifest themselves in relationships beyond the
family itself.

Tags: psychotherapy