A Cognitive Behavioral Systems Approach to Family Therapy

Abstract

Family therapy, including conjoint approaches to couples, families, and parent-child dyads, is infused with concepts adapted from general systems theory. Many of the most popular models during the period when family therapy flourished in the 1960s and 1970s directly incorporated systems theory. As modifications and new approaches came into vogue in the 1980s and 1990s, the contributions of systems concepts were eclipsed and theorists, researchers, and practitioners often failed to acknowledge their contribution. In an attempt to re-integrate these developments in state-of-the-art family therapy, this article will explore systems theory, its complementary characteristics with cognitive behavioral therapy, and how these 2 approaches can be simultaneously applied to family therapy in a comprehensive, integrative manner. The distinctions between cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy, and (combined) cognitive behavioral therapy will be delineated; after which cognitive behavioral therapy interventions and their relationship to systems concepts will be described. An illustrative model will be presented with recommendations for future research.