In Strategic Family Therapy, symptoms are viewed as ...

• A. A sign of individual pathology
• B. An indicator of purely personal issues
• C. An artifact of the individual's temperament
• D. An attribute of the family's organization that serves a function

Answer: (D)

In Strategic Family Therapy, problems are seen as products of how the family is organized and how family members interact. The troubling behavior isn’t judged as a personal flaw in the individual alone; instead it is understood as serving a function within the family system. That function might be to maintain a pattern of alliances, to deflect attention away from a painful topic, to preserve balance of power, or to reduce anxiety for the family as a whole. Because the therapy targets changing those interaction patterns and the family structure, the symptom is viewed as an attribute of the family’s organization that serves a function. For example, a child acting out may function to redirect parental conflict or to maintain a certain family boundary, rather than indicating that the child is inherently pathological. This systemic view contrasts with explanations that locate the problem solely in the individual, in purely personal issues, or in temperament.