Defining Family Counselling from a systems framework

-Neha and Ramaa

Family is an interconnection of people who rely on each other for emotional, mental, monetary, physical wellbeing and various such purposes. Some families are very strong and seem perfect in terms of mutual understanding or support whereas there are other families who are a little bit weak at their base and need some guidance from somewhere. But as it is mostly seen that people are not very open and do not find it important to take help form outside as it is very commonly thought to keep it within the boundaries of the family. But that scenario is changing and there a major emphasis on family counselling rises.

In a general context, family counselling can be defined as a type of therapy used to resolve the problems within the family and help them get along well with the other members. It does not restrict to only issues concerning fights between the members, but also how to deal with issues such as taking care of someone with any kind of mental health issue also. The purpose of such services is to maintain or improve the functioning of the family. Counselors may work with the entire family or can even work with just one parent or child depending upon the situation. Sometimes it can also include the extended family.

Murray Bowen in one of the pioneers of Family Therapy. 

Bowen’s System Theory

The family systems theory is a theory introduced by Dr. Murray Bowen that suggests that individuals cannot be understood in isolation from one another, but rather as a part of their family, as the family is an emotional unit and all are interconnected and interdependent.

According to Bowen, a family is a system in which each member had a role to play and rules to respect. System is an assembly of objects related to each other, i.e. it is a group interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole. The system looks at both i.e the individual as a separate being and a family as a whole to uderstadn the case.

Each member of the system is expected to respond to each other in a certain way according to their role, which is determined by relationship agreements. They all exhibit a coherent behavior which will bring out a trait of the system. This inter connection between the elements will create the structure of the family.

There is a boundary of the system which helps to develop a pattern of interaction between the members of the family. Patterns develop as certain family member's behavior is caused by and causes other family member's behaviors in predictable ways. Maintaining the same pattern of behaviors within a system may lead to balance in the family system, but also to dysfunction. For example, if one member of the family is experiencing stress then the others in the family needs to take responsibility and make things work. Changes in the role can help but over doing them may cause dysfunction again.

There are eight interlocking concepts in Dr. Bowen's theory:

1) Triangles: The smallest stable relationship system. Triangles usually have one side in conflict and two sides in harmony, contributing to the development of clinical problems.

2) Differentiation of self: The variance in individuals in their susceptibility to depend on others for acceptance and approval.

3) Nuclear family emotional system: The four relationship patterns that define where problems may develop in a family:

• Marital Conflict
• Dysfunction in one spouse
• Impairment of one or more children
• Emotional Distance

4) Family projection process: The transmission of emotional problems from a parent to a child.

5) Multigenerational transmission process: The transmission of small differences in the levels of differentiation between parents and their children. 

6) Emotional cutoff: The act of reducing or cutting off emotional contact with family as a way managing unresolved emotional issues.

7) Sibling position: The impact of sibling position on development and behavior.

8) Societal emotional process: The emotional system governs behavior on a societal level, promoting both progressive and regressive periods in a society.

According to Bowen, family is a system of interconnections where one person influences another and thus leads to dependence among the family members. His model is very straight forward which states that families are bounded by interconnections. But then I would also like to add a few essential points and make my own model which would support his idea that people in the families are influenced by one another but then they are also bound by mutual respect, love, trust, understanding and friendship which will help families share a very healthy relationship with one another. The inclusion of smaller elements helps us define the system better.

Family counselling, according to us based on systems framework is the understanding of the family in terms of its structure and behavior. It is a type of therapy wherein a therapist is understanding the functioning of a family by not only understanding the situation but also by taking into consideration the smaller aspects which affects and individual and thus in return affects the family as a whole. For example, if a child in a family is not happy with the behavior of the parents then the child can start to become emotional numb towards them just to protect himself/herself. We have tried explaining the model in a diagrammatic from where an emphasis is given both to the structure and the dynamics of the family system. If one member of the family is showing any kind of dysfunction then the others should take responsibility otherwise the entire mechanism comes to a standstill. Apart from the structure and the functioning another important aspect of family counselling is the way the members of the family interact. If there is any malfunction in the interaction than higher are the chances for the system to break down.