Family Systems Theory: Focusing on Family Relationships

In contrast to psychotherapy that focuses on individuals, there is an effective psychological support method that focuses on the family as a system. We will introduce the "family systems theory" that forms the basis of this method

• Dysfunction of the entire family system
• The emergence of children's problems is a symptom of a system crisis
• Benefits to the support approach

Dysfunction of the entire family system

Family systems theory, influenced by general systems theory in the natural sciences, gave rise to systems-based family therapy in psychiatry and clinical psychology. It approaches psychological disorders from the perspective of the family as a system and attempts to provide support. Family therapy established itself as a prominent psychological support method by the 1980s, and family and couples therapy have become a genre of psychological support professions (Corey et al., 1998). The development of family therapy in the United States is said to have been largely due to changes in families, such as the increasing divorce rate (Yusa, 1984), and there is a possibility that the number of specialists in this field will increase in Japan in the future. A

system is described as a cohesive whole. In Japanese, there is a word called "kei" (system). For example, "solar system" is translated as "solar system." It refers to a planetary system consisting of the sun and eight planets orbiting it. The solar system is part of the galaxy, but it is also an independent whole in itself. Systems thus have a hierarchical structure. Taking the human body as an example, the body is composed of various organ systems, such as the nervous system, circulatory system, and digestive system. In other words, while each system forms part of the human body, it has a relatively independent structure and function. This is what we call a system.

The major theories of psychological disorders in current clinical psychology include psychoanalysis, behavioral therapy, and several other etiological models, but these are all designed with the individual in mind. For example, psychoanalysis assumes that the unconscious is involved in the formation of psychological disorders, while behavioral therapy describes problematic behavior as the result of incorrect learning. In contrast, systems-based family therapy does not reduce problems to the psychological state of the individual. Instead, it considers that the dysfunction of the entire system to which the individual belongs is manifested through its members (the individual). In this respect, the systems approach is unique as a psychological support model within clinical psychology.

The emergence of children's problems is a symptom of a system crisis

A typical example is the response to the problem of school refusal. In the individual paradigm described above, school refusal is attributed to the child, and this can be seen as an unconscious conflict or learned maladaptive behavior. In other words, the individual is attributed as the primary cause of the problem.

Attributing the causes of individual behavior to an individual is a natural logic, and people generally think this way. A parent of a school-refusing child might say, "My child is very nervous." This cause-and-effect model is called linear causality. In contrast, the interactive influence relationships in a system are called circular causality. In this model, it is difficult to clearly determine cause and effect. In fact, when a child refuses to go to school in a family, it affects the parents, which changes their relationship with the child. It is then thought that these changes in the parents will affect the child. In this way, the relationships among the members of a system are interactive.

Source: Compiled by the author

So how does systems family therapy interpret a child's school refusal? A common interpretation is that increased tension in the system, such as discord between parents, can lead to the child's (neurotic child's) school refusal. Parents and their spouses, whose relationship has deteriorated and who no longer communicate, may feel the need to discuss the issue when the child's school refusal arises. As a result, when the parents begin to discuss, the system may shift to a different form. In this case, the emergence of the child's problems can be interpreted as a manifestation of a crisis in the family system, and even if the child is not aware of it, it can be interpreted as an attempt to repair the dysfunction in the system.

Therefore, in systems family therapy, the individual causing the problem within the system is called an identified patient (IP). This means not a "patient" but "someone who is considered a patient." As mentioned earlier, this indicates that the individual is not the cause (etiology) of the problem, but rather someone who is burdened with the system's problems (etiology). This idea has led to the support concept of "not searching for a culprit" in family therapy. When a child refuses to go to school, debates can arise over who is to blame, such as the mother or the father, or even whether the parents are raising the child poorly, but family therapists will not make such attributions. This is because systems family therapy has discovered that in many cases, the parties involved are each trying to resolve the issue, but these efforts are actually backfiring.

Benefits to the support approach

Furthermore, this systems-theoretic approach is not only useful for assessing problems surrounding school refusal, but also offers significant advantages for support approaches. Under the conventional view that the cause of a problem lies within the individual, it goes without saying that the supporter must meet the individual. Even if the goal is to resolve unconscious conflicts through psychological interviews, support cannot be provided if the individual does not show up for the interview. However, the supporter is a child who is refusing to go to school. It is entirely possible that the child will not be able to come to the supporter. In that case, the supporter may end up with a contradictory request: "Can you bring your child?" This is a common scenario encountered in actual support consultations for hikikomori

(social withdrawal). In contrast, from a systems-theoretic perspective, the supporter does not necessarily need to meet the child. This is because the cause of the problem lies not in the child, but in a dysfunction in the family's functioning (relationships). Therefore, the interviewer only needs to meet with one family member. Typically, one family member (often the mother) comes to the consultation, concerned about the problem and seeking a solution. Family therapists aim to change the family system through that one family member. Fortunately, family therapists are familiar with various systems-theory methods for approaching children even when they cannot meet them.

(Note) While the diversity and transformation of families is a hot topic in modern times, here we have discussed universal characteristics seen from a systems perspective and the family therapy that has been developed from this. There is also much academic discussion on family therapy, but this article is primarily written from the perspective of the communication school, which discusses the function of family systems from an information-theory perspective.

(Revised and expanded version of the article published in the May 2024 issue of EN-ICHI FORUM)

Citations/References

• マリアン・コーリィ、ジェラルド・コーリィ（1998）Becoming a Helper,（3rd Ed.）下山晴彦監訳（2004）心理援助の専門職として働くために―臨床心理士・カウンセラー・PSWの実践テキスト．金剛出版．
• 中釜洋子、野末武義、布柴靖枝、無藤清子（2008）家族心理学―家族システムの発達と臨床的援助．有斐閣ブックス．
• 中村伸一（2017）家族療法のいくつかの考え方．家族社会学研究，29（1）；38－48.
• 日本家族研究・家族療法学会編（2003）臨床家のための家族療法リソースブック―総説と文献105．金剛出版．
• 若島孔文、長谷川啓三（2018）新版よくわかる！短期療法ガイドブック．金剛出版．
• 遊佐安一郎（1984）家族療法入門―システムズ・アプローチの理論と実際．星和書店．

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