What Is Strategic Family Therapy?

Short-term strategic family therapy (SFT) is a common treatment option for families dealing with challenging behaviors in children and adolescents.

In order to address issues that are unique to the family unit and to effect behavioral change, therapists work collaboratively with families to develop interventions that mimic natural family interactions and talks in a secure therapeutic setting.1 Active therapy is what SFT is all about. The document is meant to be succinctly informative and task-focused.

Because of its centrality to their lives and growth, families are the primary focus of strategic family therapy. Family systems therapy aims to pinpoint and alter the underlying interaction patterns that characterize the family unit. This strategy improves family functioning so that children can overcome difficulties by focusing on the behaviors and relationships within the family that contribute to problem behavior.2

In this post, we’ll look at what strategic family therapy is, why it’s helpful, and how it’s implemented. Instructions on how to g

Types of Strategic Family Therapy

Depending on the severity of the presenting issue, brief strategic family therapy (BSFT) may last anywhere from 12 to 17 weekly sessions. Sessions usually run between 60 and 90 minutes.

It’s a tried-and-true method for helping kids 7-16 deal with and overcome their emotional and behavioral issues.

Rebellion, truancy, delinquency, substance abuse, and hanging out with the wrong crowd are all examples of externalizing symptoms. Depression and anxiety are examples of internalizing symptoms.

Related therapies that also prioritize the care of the whole family are:
Bowen Theory and Family Therapy
Family treatment based on open dialogue
Systemic therapy for families
Counseling for the Whole Family
Therapeutic Narrative
Psychoeducation
Family structure treatment
Therapy that strengthens families
Systemic treatment
Counseling across generations

Techniques of Strategic Family Therapy

Each family’s SFT program is designed specifically for their needs. Here are some methods a strategic family therapist might employ when counseling individuals and families.

Joining

The first thing to do is to form a therapeutic bond with the patient’s loved ones. This is a mutually respectful and considerate friendship.

A therapeutic attitude known as “joining” allows the therapist to enter the family system, demonstrate solidarity with the family, and give family members agency over their own healing.

Tracking and Diagnosing

The therapist’s goal after establishing rapport with a family is to gain a deeper understanding of the family’s dynamics and its presenting issues. A treatment strategy can then be formulated when the strengths and maladaptive patterns of interaction have been identified.

Restructuring

A variety of methods are used to help a family learn to interact differently with one another as part of the restructuring process.2 SFT therapists may employ a variety of interventions, including:

Enacting transactional patterns:

Transactional patterns can be enacted by having family members act out routine interactions without describing or verbalizing what is happening.

Recreating communication channels:

Re-establishing lines of communication involves family members talking to each other instead of the therapist or another family member about how each other is behaving.

Escalating stress:

Putting a family through a stressful situation in order to observe how they react and teach them healthy coping mechanisms

Assigning tasks:

Giving the family homework to rearrange their dinner seating arrangement is an example of assigning assignments, which involves changing and practicing new forms of communication.

What Strategic Family Therapy Can Help With

Advantages of strategic family treatment include:

Aggression-inducing actions
Disruptive behavior
Delinquency
Noncompliance
Addiction issues
Unsafe sexual practices
Abusive actions

When dealing with young individuals who have been brought into the juvenile court system as a result of drug use, delinquency, or aggressive actions, this strategy is frequently employed. Positive parent-child interactions and parental involvement, stronger peer relationships, and more prosocial behaviors are all possible outcomes.4

Similarly, family therapy can aid in:
Improve and facilitate family communication.
Rearrange rigid family structures, coalitions, and roles.
Help the family unit adapt to and thrive in the face of adversity.
Increase family members’ need for space and independence.
Improve your home life by resolving issues with your family.

In addition to helping stepfamilies adjust to their new family dynamic, family therapy can benefit children and adolescents who are struggling with the effects of a personality, anxiety, or mood problem on their family and social functioning.

Benefits of Strategic Family Therapy

There are many ways in which strategic family counseling can help families flourish. This treatment has a number of advantages, including:

Facilitates more open dialogue within the family
Facilitates the development of, or the maintenance of, appropriate limits
fosters better parenting
Improves one’s capacity to resolve conflicts
Fosters unity in the home
Strategic family therapy is based on the idea that a child’s symptoms are heavily influenced by the way in which the family operates and interacts. This treatment assists children by modifying the family’s dynamics in a way that lowers their vulnerability to developing behavior problems in the future.

Structural family treatment also offers the advantage of being adaptable. Its flexibility makes it useful for a wide range of families, from those with only one parent to those with blended generations or stepfamilies.

When delivered by a clinician with sensitivity to cultural norms, strategic family therapy can benefit clients from a wide variety of backgrounds. Seeking for a culturally responsive therapist who is willing to investigate and address cultural variables and multigenerational patterns as part of treatment is essential due to the profound impact they have on families.

Things to Consider

Although strategic family therapy has many potential advantages, it is also possible to encounter some difficulties. Although strategic family therapy shows promise, it is not the best option for every challenge.

Participation

Family involvement in the healing process is crucial. However, families may have trouble getting help if they try to work together to address the factors that contribute to behavioral issues.2 Some members of the family may be less supportive, or they may flat-out refuse to participate in counseling.

Resistance

The context in which a patient enters treatment may also affect their engagement and progress. Through the legal system, teens may be referred to strategic family counseling.4 According to the studies conducted, people who seek help typically feel hopeless and blame others, including their loved ones, for their issues.2 This can make beginning and keeping up with treatment more difficult.

Difficult Emotions

It’s also crucial to understand that a big part of getting better is talking openly and honestly about one’s feelings, disagreements, and strained connections with others. Many people will be distressed by this, and it is normal to experience a worsening of emotions before they begin to feel better. This highlights the need for family members to seek the assistance of a trained expert who can assist them in processing intense or distressing feelings.

How to Get Started

The duration of the quick type of strategic family treatment is often less than a year. On the other hand, the length of time it takes to see results might vary widely from family to family and problem to problem.

It may include everyone who can or is willing to participate in treatment, or it may only include those who are able to.

If you and your loved ones believe that this method of care will be beneficial, you can start by requesting a referral from your primary care physician. A social worker or school counselor may also recommend a therapist.