HHC Centre Family Therapy: Forget The Blame Game And Solve Co | Page 5

Structural Therapy
The idea behind structural therapy is that the family strength comes about through a web or matrix formed by all the interpersonal
relationships amongst the family members. A strong family or a well-adjusted family, is described as being one that can adjust and
cope with problems by responding and developing in order to adjust to best serve the family’s needs. In this case a therapist will
work with the family group to identify and strengthen the family bonds as well as identify and help resolve interpersonal
relationship issues that may be constraining the family’s ability to grow and develop in order to resolve their issues. In this style of
therapy the therapist is concerned with working with the family group to assist them in identifying and resolving their own
internal interpersonal relationship issues. As a result it is often felt that the best results came about through therapy sessions taking
the form of less-formal family group meetings. The technique the therapist common use is called tracking and this is where the
therapist listens carefully to each family member as they relate their stories. The therapist carefully notes each sequence of events
and this enables them to identify trends in the sequences and may assist in planning interventions or identifying trigger points or
behaviours.