Virgina Satirs Humanistic Therapy Theory

3 Pages 660 Words

Virginia Satir differed from other family therapy theorists in that her methods focus on the positive or healthy aspects of the family rather than the “problem”. She believed that the “problems” that arose within a family were based upon the healthy intentions of its members, which were not expressed in an authentic manner. This resulted in a variety of communication breakdowns in the family and the inability of the family members to express their feelings in an authentic manner. Satir used therapy to build self-esteem and to allow the clients to grow in a healthy way through various therapeutic techniques (Lawson & Prevatt, 1999).

In Satir’s model there are four communication styles that are adopted by family members when they are afraid to voice their true feelings. She labels these as poses and it is the therapist’s job to allow the family to feel comfortable enough to be able to recognize the poses and show their authentic feelings. The poses are placating (weak, dependent), blaming (superior, accusatory), computing (cold, analytical), and distracting (refuses to acknowledge situation). Gentle, guiding techniques are used in this therapy (Lawson & Prevatt, 1999).

To help the family members recognize the poses they assume and help them to discuss their authentic feelings, Andreas (1991) reviewed and identified seven main themes for a therapist to follow when using Satir’s approach:
1. Focusing therapy on the positive outcome rather than the traumatic past event or problem.
2. All people are inherently good and most intentions are positive even if they appear not to be; thus the therapist needs to develop a gentle and comforting relationship with the clients.
3. Look to develop healthy interactions between family members rather than fixate on destructive behaviors.
4. Therapists are more like life coaches than authoritative dictators in therapy. The more gentle the therapist, the more comfortable the cl...