Intervention Statements for Parents

The following are Structural Family Therapy intervention statements (cognitive constructs) Minuchin might make while working with families having difficulty with a young child's disruptive behavior.

"This support of the parental subsystem aims at increasing both the psychological distance between the mother and child and the proximity between spouses, giving them a common task as parents."

"When a four-year-old is taller than her mother, maybe she is sitting on the shoulders of her father."

"A four-year-old is no match for her parents if they pull together."

"If you cannot handle a young kid, maybe you are pulling in different directions."

"You must be doing something wrong.  I don't know what it could be, but I am sure if you think together, you will find out what it is, and moreover, you will find a solution."

"As things go, you are defeating each other, and in some way you are hurting and exploiting a child that both of you love very much, so we will need to find a way in which you help each other so you can help your child."

From Minuchin, S. & Fishman, H.C. (1981). Family Therapy Techniques. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, MA.