ABSTRACT
Salvador Minuchin, an Argentinean psychiatrist, developed a model for treatment based on systems theory called structural family therapy. Structural family therapy is unique because of its emphasis on structural change having priority over the details of individual change (Minuchin, 2014). The therapist acts as a leader and a very dynamic mediator trying to restructure the family. This treatment model works well with the Eastern family backgrounds of most Muslim families in terms of honoring expert opinions and following advice as opposed to insight-oriented therapy. Structural family therapy uses three related parts—the family as an open living system, the problem behavior, and therapeutic change—in order to alter the family dynamics.
