Why We Made This:
Family therapy can seem like a maze of competing theories, overlapping terminology, and intricate dynamics, making it challenging to fully grasp. Individuals often confuse which theory emphasizes what — whether it’s boundaries, triangulation, homeostasis, or feedback loops — and which techniques belong to which model. We created these visually structured, easy-to-reference charts to help you make sense of family therapy approaches by comparing and contrasting their core principles, founders, interventions, and goals side-by-side.
 
Learning Objectives:
Recognize and differentiate major family therapy models, including Bowenian, Structural, Strategic, Experiential, Contextual, and others.
Understand foundational family systems concepts such as triangulation, boundaries, feedback loops, homeostasis, differentiation, and circular causality.
Learn and apply hallmark family therapy interventions, including reframing, joining, enactments, family sculpting, and circular questioning.
Link each theory to its founder and conceptual foundation to better understand the historical context and purpose of each approach.