ABSTRACT
We have already included some of the most signi®cant contributions to family therapy practice from structural family therapy within the earlier points. Minuchin (1974; Minuchin and Fishman 1981), the founder of structural family therapy, established the concepts of family adaptability and cohesion (Point 46) and also used enactment (Point 58). His understanding of families was centred upon their structure. This concept described a number of dimensions, including the cohesion of the family (emotional closeness), their ability to adapt to the changing needs of the family's members (adaptability) and the hierarchy (who has the power) of the family. Minuchin argued that families with problems often seemed to have incoherent structures when it came to cohesion, hierarchy or ability to adapt.
