Chapter 4 EoC Questions - Pascual Medina
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Communications
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Feb 20, 2024
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1.
What are the principal tenets essential to understanding Satir’s communication/humanistic family therapy approach? Discuss.
Satir’s works all operate upon one major assumption: inherent goodness in people. Satir saw self-esteem as one of the most notable family functions, believed in her approach that she was aiding people in their own self-discovery and self-help. Her philosophy can be broken down into five major tenets. The first of these tenets is the importance of our family of origin. Satir saw parental figures as “architects of their present family” (Rasheed, Rasheed, and Marley p. 138), meaning that they determine the structure and stability of the family unit as they possess the experience to know best how to lead. Stir viewed present family, meaning those who procreated, as the dominant influence in the family lives. With this dominance, comes members who must sacrifice parts of their own self-esteem. A second tenet to note is the concept of families as systems. Specifically, unrealistic expectations within these systems that lead to dysfunction within the family. Expecting a partner to clean up after you, or to take your abuse and undesirable behavior are some examples of unrealistic expectations within a couple’s context. This can also be demonstrated with children, who may face unrealistic expectations from their parents conserving their development. A third tenet of Satir’s philosophy is that the result of low self-esteem is defensive behavior and dysfunction. Low self esteem can cause multiple problems within the family, as it can cause members to act out of behave maladaptively. Low self-esteem is different from simply feeling down. Low self-esteem specifically referred to feeling as if one needs to conceal one’s own feelings about themselves from themselves. Satir also theorized that individuals with low self-
esteem tend to marry amongst each other, creating environments populated entirely by low self-
esteem individuals. This is why raising self esteem in one’s children is a paramount for childhood success. A fourth tenet to note is the concept that all the resources to be a whole person are within one’s self. Satir wrote that anyone has the capacity within themselves to improve their self-worth. Resources for anyone include a capacity for learning, cooperativity, and the ability to make mistakes. Should an individual utilize these resources available within themselves, they will be able to become a more whole person, in accordance to Satir’s theories. A fifth and final major tenet of Satir’s philosophy is emphasis on the important of the beliefs of the therapist. Satir theorized that both the therapist and their thoughts and beliefs were the most key components to success in therapy. In order for a patient to be successful, they should have model behavior demonstrated for them. In listening and observing in a nonjudgmental way, therapists can serve a basis for healthy communication for families, as they can demonstrate clear and concise communication while also keeping in mind the emotions of those around them.
2.
Why is it important for therapists to embrace and clients to accept these tenets in order to facilitate therapeutic success? For the initial tenet, it is important that practitioners embrace the idea of parents being “architects” of the family
3.
Discuss the theoretical and philosophical shifts that influenced Satir to change the name of her approach to working with families from communications family therapy to human validation process model.
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