Family Therapy In Clinical Counseling And Treatment To Explore

Before 1970's, there consisted three primarily distinct schools in the field of psychotherapy and counseling, which were psychoanalysis, behaviorism and humanism. Then family therapy rose out and became the fourth force, which was as influential as the above-mentioned ones. Family therapy renders a new frame which focus on the critical role of the interaction in family system in understanding and treating people's symptoms or problems rather than individual's inner conflict or personality. It is a significant change of thinking style, which is from individual to systemic, from linear to circular. In America, more and more counselors and therapists use family therapy approach.In the late 1980's, family therapy began to develop in China. But until now the popularity is still low. The purpose of this research is to introduce the family system theory to Chinese psychological society and test the suitableness of it in Chinese culture.The first part of this thesis summarizes the history and theory of family therapy. The second part demonstrates that youth with emotional problems and behavioral problems have more tendencies to involve in family triangle system than those without such kind of problems. And the third part illustrates the process, technique and clinical application value of family therapy through a typical Chinese family therapy case. The forth part discusses the present condition of family therapy in china, the relationship between system theory and Chinese traditional culture. The last part puts forward the future direction of this research and the prospect of development of family therapy in China.