How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching Families | Page 95

Strategic Family Therapy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Strategic family therapy is a family-oriented therapy that involves a patient's daily family environment as a
major part of treatment. Pressure from family, society and peers can create rifts in even the strongest
families creating dysfunction.
Strategic family therapy seeks to address specific problems that can be addressed in a shorter time frame
than other therapy modalities. It is one of the major models of both family and brief psychotherapy. Jay
Haley of the the Strategic Family Therapy Center says that it is known as Strategic Therapy because "it is a
therapy where the therapist initiates what happens during therapy, designs a specific approach for each
person's presenting problem, and where the therapist takes responsibility for directly influencing people."
Strategic Family Therapy (Madanes and Haley) designs a strategy for each specific problem. Clear goals
set, symptoms deprived of their relationship-controlling function. Therapist controls the therapy. The goal
is to fix the problem creating disruption and preserving the family unit no matter what.
Every interaction is a struggle for control of the relationship's definition. Symmetrical (similar, often
competitive) vs. complementary (different, often counter responding) interactions. Meta communication and
repetitive interactions examined. Prescriptive and descriptive paradoxical assignments.
Madanes: "pretend techniques." Circular questioning. Positive connotation (as refr