Which therapy is most closely associated with altering family structure and boundaries?

Which therapy is most closely associated with altering family structure and boundaries?

• A. Structural Family Therapy
• B. Cognitive and Behavioral Counseling
• C. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
• D. Existential Therapy

Answer: (A)

Structural Family Therapy focuses on how the family is organized—the roles, subsystems, and the boundaries that regulate interaction. The therapy seeks to change those patterns by adjusting boundaries (making them more appropriate or less rigid, for example) and reorganizing subsystems so family members relate in healthier ways. Practically, therapists observe how family members interact, often guiding parents and children through enactments to reveal dysfunctional patterns and then help the family restructure who has authority, who is involved in certain situations, and how emotions move through the system. This emphasis on shifting the family’s structure and boundary dynamics is what sets it apart from approaches like CBT, which targets individual thoughts and behaviors; REBT, which focuses on changing beliefs; and Existential Therapy, which explores meaning and choices rather than family organization.