Description:
After a brief description of Family Therapy on the 1960s, and an equally brief description of where it is today, we will make a comparison of the success of family therapy in Europe and the shrinkage in the U.S. A new model of family assessment in four easy steps will be described.
Educational Objectives:
*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*
Outline:
Salvador Minuchin's Reflections on Family Therapy
Opens with humor about aging, quoting George Burns
Reflects on the beginnings of family therapy in 1958 and its enduring relevance
Cites Don Jackson’s 1952 work on familial metastasis as pivotal in shifting psychoanalytic thought
Recalls early family therapy work at Penn and with diverse populations
Early Years and Evolution of Therapeutic Approach
Describes early practice at Willowbrook with disadvantaged children and families
Developed a three-stage session model to address family dynamics
Focused on understanding diverse family roles and real-time interaction
Emphasized present-moment engagement while considering past influences
Personal Background and Professional Development
Shares upbringing in Argentina and medical training during political unrest
Served in Israeli army during the War of Independence, shaping professional resilience
Recounts early challenges after immigrating to the U.S.—language, culture, professional integration
Highlights his wife Pat’s influence on his evolving therapeutic identity
Challenges and Achievements in Philadelphia
Took on professorship in child psychiatry at Penn University
Faced resistance integrating family therapy into medical models
Helped build the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic into a landmark institution
Worked with diverse populations and refined a hands-on, dynamic therapeutic style
Influence of Different Therapeutic Movements
Engaged with influences like the Milano group and feminist critiques
Maintained a critical stance while borrowing useful techniques
Evolved toward a more questioning, humorous, and collaborative stance
Advocated for optimism and therapist-client partnership in change
Postmodernist and Collaborative Approaches
Acknowledged postmodernism’s influence—resistance to dominant narratives, focus on social context
Discussed Galician and Anderson’s collaborative approach and the value of “therapist ignorance”
Critiqued postmodernism’s lack of structure but remained open to useful elements
Continued advocating for directive yet flexible therapist engagement
Narrative Therapy and Evidence-Based Approaches
Reflected on narrative therapy’s emphasis on alternative personal stories
Respected Michael White and maintained an ongoing dialogue with him
Critiqued narrative therapy’s limits, especially regarding structure and efficacy
Addressed constraints of evidence-based models for complex populations like juvenile offenders
Current Therapeutic Approaches and Future Directions
Emphasizes helping family members take responsibility for one another
Sees the therapist as a facilitator of hope and co-healer with the family
Concerned about over-pathologizing children; calls for sensitive, inclusive approaches
Envisions future family therapy as collaborative, adaptive, and hopeful
Final Reflections and Legacy
Reflects on a lifetime in therapy and his influence on the field
Encourages therapists to maintain optimism and responsibility
Speaks candidly about aging, future projects, and collaboration in Hong Kong
Closes with gratitude and a call for continued learning and connection in therapy
Salvador Minuchin, MD, developed Structural Family Therapy, which addresses problems within a family by charting the relationships between family members, or between subsets of family. He was Director of the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic. Although it was minimally staffed when he began, under his tutelage the Clinic grew to become one of the most modeled and respected child guidance facilities in the world. In 1981, Minuchin began his own family therapy center in New York. After his retirement in 1996, the center was renamed the Minuchin Center. Dr. Minuchin is the author of many notable books, including many classics. His latest is Mastering Family Therapy: Journeys of Growth and Transformation. In 2007, a survey of 2,600 practitioners named Minuchin as one of the ten most influential therapists of the past quarter-century.