ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at theoretical perspectives which may be helpful for understanding families – and the practical relevance of these concepts. It then provides an outline of the ways in which family therapy has developed, and then discusses the relevance of this to anyone working with children or families. Family therapy is based on the idea that the family is a system. Systemic theory has moved on to adopt the idea of social constructionism, which emphasises the influence of culture and society on shared beliefs, and includes the therapist in the system that needs to be looked at. There were three main schools of family therapy: structural, which focuses on power hierarchies and boundaries within the family; strategic, which focuses on setting tasks that may lead to new attitudes or actions; and Milan systemic family therapy.
