How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching Families | Page 162

Contextual Family Therapy Approach
“Without a moral vocabulary, we cannot act out of conviction, merely out of habit.” (Susan Neiman)
The field of this essay is the Contextual Approach to Family Therapy, developed in the mid-20th century. Its
founder, Iván Böszörményi-Nagy (1920-2007) was born in Budapest into a family of prominent judges,
graduated with a Degree in Psychiatry in 1948 and immigrated to the US, in disagreement with unjust
Communist regime in post - WWII Hungary.
Family Therapy started developing in
1950s, when several American
therapists, including Böszörményi-Nagy
“began to look beyond individual
psychology to understand and try to
treat severe mental disorders...” (Carey
(2007)) During clinical work,
Böszörményi-Nagy noticed destructive
patterns of family interactions being
frequently passed on through
generations. This observation later
contributed to the Contextual Approach,
which equipped Family Therapy with
new theoretical principles and practical
applications.
The word “Context” has significant
meaning within Contextual Approach in
general and the Relational Ethics in
particular. It differs from the ordinary
one in the idea of responsibility of
everybody participating in the
relationship for the latter. “Context”
indicates that clients are dynamically
connected to their long-term relational involvements and multigenerational roots. It refers to network of
contacts, built in the process of giving and receiving and Interdependence, created as a result.
Relational Ethics through Multi-generational Perspective focuses on both intra- and inter-generational
functions and roles of Loyalty to both Family and Society (rather than submission to power), Legacy,
Fairness, Accountability, Trustworthiness and Reciprocity. Deriving from basic needs and individual
experiences, Relational Ethics are more than a code of socially accepted behrs. In all its complexity
mankind can be legitimately seen as either essentially selfish, or altruistic and good natured, or morally
ambivalent. However, “our evolutionary inheritance shows that “we are moral beings to the core” (de Waal,
cited by Labanyi (2009), p.21) Therefore, in the opinions of many, Relational Ethics is naturally present in
individuals, Families and broader society

The core of Contextual Approach rests on two postulates.
Firstly it holds that all Family members bare consequences of each other's actions or inactions.
Secondly it states that “quality of one's relationships is inseparable from the responsible consideration of
those consequences for others.” (Fowers, Wagner (1997))

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