WORK WITH FAMILIES

❖ Family structure allows clinicians to assess the functions and operations

within the family and its external environment.
❖ Functions are the ways in which family members fulfill their purpose within
the system, while operations are the activities that carry out these functions.
❖ Assessing family structure helps understand the patterns and organization
that families adopt to maintain stability during times of change.
❖ The functionalist perspective emphasizes interdependence,
interconnectedness, and the social life of families as factors for achieving
stability.
❖ Culture, ethnicity, and racial composition influence a family's ability to
function and achieve stability through interdependence.
❖ Structuralism suggests that families should be hierarchically organized,
with parents having more power, responsibility, and privileges than children.
❖ Complementary family structures involve functions that work together, and
reciprocal roles are mutually beneficial to the family and the environment.
❖ Assessing family structures involves exploring internal interactional
patterns, community systems, and the impact of public policies.
❖ Micro Level intervention approaches, such as family therapy, in-home crisis
intervention, and family case management, enhance family functioning.
❖ Family members may resist changes in the family structure that deviate from
established patterns.
❖ Informal systems, such as kinship networks and community organizations,
can significantly increase family functioning and problem-solving capabilities.
❖ These points highlight the significance of family structure in assessing and
understanding how families function, adapt to change, and achieve stability.
They also emphasize the importance of considering cultural and social
factors, as well as utilizing intervention approaches that address the specific
needs and dynamics of each family.