ABSTRACT
The family, as an open sociocultural system, is continually faced by demands for change. These demands are sparked by biopsychosocial changes in one or more of its members and by various inputs from the social system in which every family is imbedded. The family therapist’s function is to help the identified patient and the family by facilitating the transformation of the family system. The therapist joins the family in a position of leadership. In family therapy, transformation, or the restructuring of the family system, or the individual’s new experience. In order to transform the family system, the therapist has to intervene so as to unbalance the system. The therapist’s use of himself to support family members is particularly crucial in work with pathologically enmeshed families. The therapist must monitor the impact of therapy and of life circumstances on the family and be ready to offer support.
