Family therapy treatment model

The therapy model uses elements of both structural and strategic family therapy. Structural family therapy derives its name from the perceived importance of family composition, particularly as a hierarchy, and how this hierarchical system is organised. For example, a family with a weak and ineffectual father would be subject to an imbalance in family structure. The therapist s main objective is to identify the imbalance and to intervene by emphasising the importance of the father and his role in the family, that is, elevating his importance. Structural family therapy is widely associated with Salvador Minuchin, who used it extensively in the treatment of anorectic families . Only a cursory summary is presented here. Interested readers will find these techniques covered more fully in Minuchin and Fishman (1981). 

Those in this condition were prescribed methadone on a fixed reduction schedule (5 mg reduction every two weeks). Therapy consisted of brief intensive sessions with initial emphasis on engaging the family in the treatment programme. The theoretical approach of our therapy derived from both a structural and strategic model, described earlier. 

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