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Essay / Family Counseling In Family Counseling - 734
Minuchin (1998) propagates the family system as being a singular integrated and multiple system, where individual members are interdependent and exert continuous and reciprocal influence on each other (as cited in Cox and Paley, 1997). ). Systems theory formulates the idea that every family is governed by rules, which may be verbal or tacit. It indicates that system families tend to have semi-permeable boundaries, monitoring transactions where some are allowed and others are not. Maintaining communication between members or parts of the system is essential for the functioning of the system (Barker, 2013). Systems theory proposes that to maintain functionality, family members attempt to achieve a stable equilibrium state, classified as homeostasis (Nichols & Schwartz, 2008). Change in one family member forces the other family member to adapt to the new situation, which in turn poses a risk to the stability of the family.