Family Nexus - Therapy

Therapy

Psychotherapy today comes in many forms, following different schools of thought. Psychoanalysis emphasises childhood experience, and left- over feelings, though Freud did point to the role of society in his later works like Civilization and its Discontents. Family therapy concentrates on bringing families together and encouraging them to work out their interactions, but it might (depending on its theoretical orientation) offer little or no support to the victim of family nexus, who may then be punished for anything he dares to reveal or hint at, and (lacking a support network) submit to silent intimidation in family therapy, rather than risk exclusion and the 'ceasing to be' that follows.

The alert family therapist will however 'avoid taking the family's side...Or the scapegoat's. You mustn't take anyone's side because then you'd be joining in the blaming...You've got to treat the family as a system, without blaming anyone...you need to make them all feel supported'.