Assignment: Structural Versus Strategic Family Therapies

Although structural therapy and strategic therapy are both used in family therapy, these therapeutic approaches have many differences in theory and application. As you assess families and develop treatment plans, you must consider these differences and their potential impact on clients. For this Assignment, as you compare structural and strategic family therapy, consider which therapeutic approach you might use with your own client families.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Compare structural family therapy to strategic family therapy
• Create structural family maps
• Justify recommendations for family therapy

To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide on structural and strategic family therapies.
• Refer to TherapistAid (2020) in this week’s Learning Resources for guidance on creating a structural family map.

The Assignment

In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following:

• Summarize the key points of both structural family therapy and strategic family therapy.
• Compare structural family therapy to strategic family therapy, noting the strengths and weaknesses of each.
• Provide an example of a family in your practicum using a structural family map. Note: Be sure to maintain HIPAA regulations.
• Recommend a specific therapy for the family, and justify your choice using the Learning Resources.

Assignment 2: Experiential Versus Narrative Family Therapies

This assignment was introduced to you in Week 3.

Although experiential therapy and narrative therapy are both used in family therapy, these therapeutic approaches have many differences in theory and application. As you assess families and develop treatment plans, you must consider these differences and their potential impact on clients. For this Assignment, you compare Experiential and Narrative Family Therapy.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Compare experiential family therapy to narrative family therapy
• Justify recommendations for family therapy

To prepare:

Students will:

• Compare experiential family therapy to narrative family therapy
• Justify recommendations for family therapy

To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide on experiential and family therapies.

The Assignment

In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following: 

• Summarize the key points of both experiential family therapy and narrative family therapy. 
• Compare experiential family therapy to narrative family therapy, noting the strengths and weaknesses of each.
• Provide a description of a family that you think experiential family therapy would be appropriate, explain why, and justify your response using the Learning Resources. 

Note: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The sample paper provided by the Walden Writing Center provides examples of those required elements (available at  http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). All papers submitted must use this formatting.

Part 2: Family Genogram

Develop a genogram for the client’s family you selected. The genogram should extend back at least three generations (parents, grandparents, and great grandparents).