Theoretical Underpinnings

The goal of BSFT is to improve youth behavior by:

• Improving family relationships that are presumed to be directly related to youth behavior problems.
  
  
• Improving relationships between the family and other important systems that influence the youth (e.g., school, peers).

To understand the specific way in which BSFT produces changes in these relationships and subsequent changes in behavior problems, it is necessary to understand some of the basic principles on which BSFT is based.

Systems

BSFT assumes that each family has its own unique characteristics and properties that emerge and are apparent only when family members interact. This family “system” influences all members of the family. Thus, the family must be viewed as a whole organism rather than merely as the composite sum of the individuals or groups that compose it. In BSFT, this view of the family system is evident in the following assumptions:

• The family is a system with interdependent/interrelated parts.
  
  
• The behavior of one family member can only be understood by examining the context (i.e., family) in which it occurs.
  
  
• Interventions must be implemented at the family level and must take into account the complex relationships within the family system.

Structure

BSFT also focuses on “structure.” While the concept of a system is useful, one must understand the system's basic structure to recognize the mechanism through which it operates. Thus, as noted above, the existence of a system explains how the behaviors of family members are interdependent. These interdependent or linked behavioral interactions among individuals tend to recur and create patterns of interactions among family members. In BSFT, these repetitive patterns compose a family system's structure. This view of structure is evident in the following assumptions:

• Structure refers to the repetitive patterns of interactions that characterize the family system.
  
  
• Repetitive interactions (i.e., ways family members behave with one another) are either successful or unsuccessful in achieving the goals of the family or its individual members.
  
  
• BSFT targets repetitive patterns of interaction (i.e., the habitual ways in which family members behave with one another) that are directly related to the youth's behavior problems.

Strategy

BSFT believes in a strategic approach that uses pragmatic, problem-focused, and planned interventions. This strategic approach emerged from an explicit focus on developing an intervention that was quick and effective in eliminating symptoms. In BSFT, this strategic approach is evident in the following assumptions:

• Interventions are practical. That is, interventions are tailored to the unique characteristics of families and are implemented to achieve attainable treatment goals.
  
  
• Interventions are problem focused. A problem-focused approach targets first those patterns of interactions that most directly influence the youth's psychosocial adjustment and antisocial behaviors and targets one problem at a time.
  
  
• Interventions are well planned, meaning that the therapist determines what seem to be the maladaptive interactions (i.e., interactions that are directly related to the youth's behavior problems), determines which of these might be targeted, and establishes a plan to help the family develop more effective patterns of interaction.

Process Versus Content

As noted above, BSFT is primarily concerned with identifying and ameliorating patterns of interaction in the family system that are presumed to be directly related to behavioral symptoms. This focus on patterns of interactions is also referred to as a “process” focus. Rather than focusing simply on what happens in the family (e.g., what dad said when he yelled at the children), BSFT focuses on how interactions occur (e.g., who was involved in the conflict, when it occurred, who responded to whom, what preceded and followed the incident). This important distinction between process (patterns of interaction) and content (specific and concrete information) is a fundamental concept of BSFT. This process focus is evident in the following assumptions:

• Process refers to what behaviors are involved in an interaction and how they occur. Secondarily, process refers to the message that is communicated by the nature of interactions or by the style of communication, including all that is communicated nonverbally, such as emotion, tone, and the underlying power relationship.
  
  
• Content refers to the specific and concrete facts used in the communication. Content includes such things as the reasons that family members offer for a given interaction.
  
  
• BSFT is process oriented at all times. The emphasis is on identifying the nature of the interactions in the family and changing those interactions that are maladaptive.

Brief Strategic Family Therapy	Juvenile Justice Bulletin • April 2000