Ecosystemic structural family therapy; Whether you are a Therapist or a Parent, Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESTFT) can be a powerful tool to help you work with a child or adolescent. T
his therapy can also be used to help a child or adolescent recover from acute illness or a substance abuse disorder.
Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy – Adolescents
Families experience social and psychological changes during adolescence that can lead to mental health problems. These changes include readjustment of family roles, increase in conflicts, and a search for autonomy. Adverse life events can exacerbate these changes.
Ecosystemic structural family therapy (ESFT) is a training and supervision model developed by Marion Lindblad-Goldberg in the 1970s. It is a therapeutic model with empirical backing that has been proved to be helpful with teenagers. ESFT uses a family mapping technique, which identifies family patterns and promotes engagement in the therapeutic process.
Instructed sessions provide family members with a safe, non-judgmental space to resolve conflicts. The sessions also focus on establishing a therapeutic alliance.
During therapy, caregivers are taught how to observe family functioning, a process that encourages reframes, modifications of negative elements, and intensification of positive elements.
Substance Abuse Disorder Clients
Using a family systems approach to treat substance abuse disorder clients is a good idea. This form of therapy works well because it encourages family members to engage in self-care. It also improves family communication and relationships.
A recent study suggests that this type of therapy may be useful in reducing adolescent substance use. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is conducting a multisite prospective randomized clinical trial to evaluate BSFT versus TAU.
Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) is a family therapy model developed in the 1970s by Marion Lindblad-Goldberg. The model uses a relational context to help therapists identify coping strategies and reframes. It is also evidence-based and trauma-informed. The best part is that a competent caregiver can teach and implement it.
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Children with Acute Illnesses
Developed by Marion Lindblad-Goldberg in the 1970s, Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy (ESFT) is a supervision model, training model, and empirically-supported treatment approach for families with children with behavioral health problems.
The practice is trauma-informed, evidence-based, and strength-based. The primary focus of the treatment is on the parent-child relationship.
This paradigm is founded on the idea that problems may be solved within families. It focuses on improving the relationship between parents and children by enhancing communication skills, encouraging family members to take control of the change process, and ensuring that parent-child interactions are healthy.
Ecosystemic structural family therapy aims to shift the hierarchy within a family to one of the equals. This is done by learning how to assess family resilience and boundaries. The therapist then evaluates each family member’s advantages and disadvantages. The therapist then designs a treatment plan that addresses goals and objectives.
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Therapist Style
Whether you’re looking for a way to address family dynamics or cope with stress, structural family therapy can effectively strengthen your family unit. It has been shown to improve family relationships, promote family growth and stability, and increase support for individual family members.
A type of family therapy based on the frameworks of systems theory is known as structural family therapy. In this technique, the therapist collaborates with the family to uncover family patterns, solve problems, and develop an improvement plan.
Structural family therapy uses a variety of techniques. These include mapping family relationships, boundary-making, and joining.
Mapping allows the therapist to better understand the family’s interactions and patterns of behavior. This helps the therapist identify dysfunctional patterns and encourages family members to reframe situations in a positive way. The therapist then works with the family to practice the new responses.
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