What Is Strategic Family Therapy?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypesTechniquesUsesBenefitsEffectivenessThings to ConsiderHow to Get Started

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Table of Contents

Types

Techniques

Uses

Benefits

Effectiveness

Things to Consider

How to Get Started

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What is strategic family therapy (SFT)?

Strategic family therapy is based on the premise that the family plays the most important role in the life and development of children. This type of therapy seeks to identify and change the structural interaction patterns that make up the family environment. By addressing family behaviors and interactions that contribute to problem behavior, this approach helps families function better so that kids can overcome issues they are experiencing.

This article discusses how strategic family therapy works, its uses, and its efficacy. It also covers how to get started if you think this approach could be helpful for your family.

Types of Strategic Family Therapy

Brief strategic family therapy is a short-term model that typically takes place over 12 sessions. It is often used to address specific behavioral problems such as delinquency, drug use, and high-risk sexual behavior.

Related types of therapy that also focus on treating families includefamily systems therapy, functional family therapy, andstructural family therapy.

SFT focuses on changing behavior rather than finding the sources of the family’s problems.

Techniques of Strategic Family Therapy

SFT is individualized and tailored to each family’s unique situation. Some of the techniques that a therapist may draw on as they coach families through interactions designed to produce change are listed below.

Joining

The first step involves creating atherapeutic alliancewith the family. This relationship involves mutual respect and consideration that helps the family feel that the therapist is on their side.

It allows the therapist to temporarily gain acceptance into the family unit so that they can better understand the family’s experiences, relationships, and interactions.

Tracking and Diagnosing

Once a therapeutic relationship has been established, the therapist will then work to learn more about thefamily’s behavior patterns and problems. In doing so, they can identify strengths and weaknesses that will allow them to develop a treatment plan.

Restructuring

This technique involves applying different strategies to help address the problems with behaviors and relationships that are contributing to behavioral issues. This might involve utilizing a variety of techniques centered around behavior management, communication, parenting skills, and conflict resolution.

The goal of restructuring is to help promote more productive, constructive interactions that then motivate people to change.

RecapA strategic family therapist will utilize techniques including joining, tracking and diagnosing, and restructuring to understand and change problematic family dynamics and behaviors.

Recap

A strategic family therapist will utilize techniques including joining, tracking and diagnosing, and restructuring to understand and change problematic family dynamics and behaviors.

What Strategic Family Therapy Can Help With

Strategic family therapy can be helpful for:

This approach is often used in situations where young people have come into the juvenile justice system due to drug use, delinquency, or violent behaviors. It can be helpful for improving family functioning, increasing positive parental interactions and parental involvement, strengthening peer relationships, and improving prosocial behaviors.

Benefits of Strategic Family Therapy

Strategic family therapy can benefit families in a number of different ways. Some of the key benefits of this type of therapy are that it:

The basic premise of strategic family therapy is that how the family functions and interacts plays a pivotal role in a child’s symptoms. By changing how the family functions, this treatment reduces the risk factors that contribute to behavior problems and helps protect kids from future issues that may arise.

Flexibility is another important benefit of structural family therapy. Because it is adaptable, it can be utilized in a broad variety of family situations including single-parent households, multigenerational households, and stepfamilies.

RecapSome of the key benefits of strategic family therapy include improving family cohesiveness, improving communication, and improving parenting behaviors.

Some of the key benefits of strategic family therapy include improving family cohesiveness, improving communication, and improving parenting behaviors.

Evidence suggests that strategic family therapy can be effective in treating teens who are experiencing substance use, mental health conditions, and other difficulties.

While strategic family therapy can be beneficial and effective, it is important to recognize that there may also be some challenges. While strategic family therapy can be helpful in many cases, it is not always the right choice for every problem or issue.

Participation

It is important for family members to participate in the treatment process. One problem, however, is that the same dynamics that play a part in contributing to behavior problems can often interfere with families working together to get help.It is not uncommon for some family members to be less cooperative or to refuse to attend therapy sessions altogether.

Resistance

How people come into treatment may also have an impact on participation and outcomes. Teens are often referred to strategic family therapy through the criminal justice system.Researchers suggest that those entering treatment often feel hopeless and blame others, including family members, for their problems.This can make initiating and maintaining treatment more challenging.

Difficult Emotions

It is also important to recognize that the treatment process involves talking in-depth about emotional problems, conflicts, and difficult relationships. This can be upsetting for many people and it isn’t uncommon to go through a period of feeling worse before the situation improves. Because of this, it is important to work with a skilled professional who can help members of the family deal with strong or difficult emotions.

RecapStrategic family therapy isn’t right for every situation and there can be challenges that may affect the treatment process. Working with a skilled therapist can help address some of these issues.

Strategic family therapy isn’t right for every situation and there can be challenges that may affect the treatment process. Working with a skilled therapist can help address some of these issues.

The brief form of strategic family therapy is typically short-term, lasting a period of approximately 12 weeks. However, it may also last longer depending on a family’s needs and the problems that are being treated.

It may involve all members of the family, but in some cases, it may involve those who are able or willing to take part in treatment.

Once youfind a potential therapist, ask them about their background, experience, and approach to treatment. Therapists who offer this type of treatment often have a master’s or doctorate degree in a field such as psychology, social work, counseling, ormarriage and family therapy.

How to Choose the Best Type of Therapy For You

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Strategic family therapy. APA Dictionary of Psychology.Szapocznik J, Schwartz SJ, Muir JA, Brown CH.Brief strategic family therapy: an intervention to reduce adolescent risk behavior.Couple Family Psychol. 2012;1(2):134-145. doi:10.1037/a0029002Szapocznik J, Muir JA, Duff JH, Schwartz SJ, Brown CH.Brief Strategic Family Therapy: implementing evidence-based models in community settings.Psychother Res. 2015;25(1):121-133. doi:10.1080/10503307.2013.856044Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.Brief strategic family therapy (BSFT).A Sourcebook of Delinquency Interventions.Robbins MS, Feaster DJ, Horigian VE, Rohrbaugh M, Shoham V, Bachrach K, Miller M, Burlew KA, Hodgkins C, Carrion I, Vandermark N, Schindler E, Werstlein R, Szapocznik J.Brief strategic family therapy versus treatment as usual: results of a multisite randomized trial for substance using adolescents.J Consult Clin Psychol. 2011;79(6):713-27. doi: 10.1037/a0025477Jiménez L, Hidalgo V, Baena S, León A, Lorence B.Effectiveness of structural⁻strategic family therapy in the treatment of adolescents with mental health problems and their families.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(7):1255. doi:10.3390/ijerph16071255

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Strategic family therapy. APA Dictionary of Psychology.Szapocznik J, Schwartz SJ, Muir JA, Brown CH.Brief strategic family therapy: an intervention to reduce adolescent risk behavior.Couple Family Psychol. 2012;1(2):134-145. doi:10.1037/a0029002Szapocznik J, Muir JA, Duff JH, Schwartz SJ, Brown CH.Brief Strategic Family Therapy: implementing evidence-based models in community settings.Psychother Res. 2015;25(1):121-133. doi:10.1080/10503307.2013.856044Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.Brief strategic family therapy (BSFT).A Sourcebook of Delinquency Interventions.Robbins MS, Feaster DJ, Horigian VE, Rohrbaugh M, Shoham V, Bachrach K, Miller M, Burlew KA, Hodgkins C, Carrion I, Vandermark N, Schindler E, Werstlein R, Szapocznik J.Brief strategic family therapy versus treatment as usual: results of a multisite randomized trial for substance using adolescents.J Consult Clin Psychol. 2011;79(6):713-27. doi: 10.1037/a0025477Jiménez L, Hidalgo V, Baena S, León A, Lorence B.Effectiveness of structural⁻strategic family therapy in the treatment of adolescents with mental health problems and their families.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(7):1255. doi:10.3390/ijerph16071255

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Psychological Association.Strategic family therapy. APA Dictionary of Psychology.Szapocznik J, Schwartz SJ, Muir JA, Brown CH.Brief strategic family therapy: an intervention to reduce adolescent risk behavior.Couple Family Psychol. 2012;1(2):134-145. doi:10.1037/a0029002Szapocznik J, Muir JA, Duff JH, Schwartz SJ, Brown CH.Brief Strategic Family Therapy: implementing evidence-based models in community settings.Psychother Res. 2015;25(1):121-133. doi:10.1080/10503307.2013.856044Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.Brief strategic family therapy (BSFT).A Sourcebook of Delinquency Interventions.Robbins MS, Feaster DJ, Horigian VE, Rohrbaugh M, Shoham V, Bachrach K, Miller M, Burlew KA, Hodgkins C, Carrion I, Vandermark N, Schindler E, Werstlein R, Szapocznik J.Brief strategic family therapy versus treatment as usual: results of a multisite randomized trial for substance using adolescents.J Consult Clin Psychol. 2011;79(6):713-27. doi: 10.1037/a0025477Jiménez L, Hidalgo V, Baena S, León A, Lorence B.Effectiveness of structural⁻strategic family therapy in the treatment of adolescents with mental health problems and their families.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(7):1255. doi:10.3390/ijerph16071255

American Psychological Association.Strategic family therapy. APA Dictionary of Psychology.

Szapocznik J, Schwartz SJ, Muir JA, Brown CH.Brief strategic family therapy: an intervention to reduce adolescent risk behavior.Couple Family Psychol. 2012;1(2):134-145. doi:10.1037/a0029002

Szapocznik J, Muir JA, Duff JH, Schwartz SJ, Brown CH.Brief Strategic Family Therapy: implementing evidence-based models in community settings.Psychother Res. 2015;25(1):121-133. doi:10.1080/10503307.2013.856044

Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.Brief strategic family therapy (BSFT).A Sourcebook of Delinquency Interventions.

Robbins MS, Feaster DJ, Horigian VE, Rohrbaugh M, Shoham V, Bachrach K, Miller M, Burlew KA, Hodgkins C, Carrion I, Vandermark N, Schindler E, Werstlein R, Szapocznik J.Brief strategic family therapy versus treatment as usual: results of a multisite randomized trial for substance using adolescents.J Consult Clin Psychol. 2011;79(6):713-27. doi: 10.1037/a0025477

Jiménez L, Hidalgo V, Baena S, León A, Lorence B.Effectiveness of structural⁻strategic family therapy in the treatment of adolescents with mental health problems and their families.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(7):1255. doi:10.3390/ijerph16071255

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