Structural Theory Vignette - Case Study Example

Structural Family Therapy Structural family therapy Bob and Mary’s family is troubled by the series of problems that has segregated the family into individual units. The spouses are in a continuous conflict that poses a threat to the life of their marriage and worsened by the fact that Bob spends very little time with the family. The three children are disunited. Factually, it evident that the whole family have a wrong perception of the problem. By assuming that Joe’s disrespect to the mother is the problem ignores the fact that the root of the problem is more complex as the therapists discovers.

The enmeshed boundary between Sue and her mother should have been the root-cause family system failure as it disintegrates the hierarchal authority. Note that, the father is against this close relationship as it erodes the parental power and control over the children and hence the spousal conflict. The conflict disengages the father possibly because he thinks he has no power to correct his wife’s character or the wife sees it right to closely relate with her daughter and defends her stand.

By Bob staying away from home, the parental control loophole increases and Sue skips school, since the father is not concerned and the mother always trusts her so much. In a way, Joe sees these failure and terms her mother has powerless or ignorant and is not ready to take any advice or command from her given that she has failed to control his sister. At Adolescent stage, Joe is not ready to be questioned over his actions and expects he be treated similar to his elder sister and hence acts out.

The enmeshed boundary between Sue and her mother reciprocates creating a conflict relationship with her brother. The young sister becomes insecure and trusts no one and trusts no one in the family and hence stays alone. The best therapy should therefore return the hierarchical authority in the family system. ReferencesGriffin, W. A., & Greene, S. M. (2013). Models of family therapy: The essential guide. Routledge.