Why We Made This:
Family therapy models are a challenging aspect of the EPPP, as many individuals often find them difficult to distinguish, remember, and apply. Many theories sound alike, use overlapping terminology, or emphasize similar goals—making it easy to confuse Bowen’s triangles with Minuchin’s boundaries or Satir’s iceberg with experiential techniques. This detailed PDF was designed to solve that problem by organizing each theory with clarity, structure, and relatable examples. Here, we break down the most essential family therapy approaches using accessible language, case-based examples, and memory tools to support long-term retention.
 
Learning Objectives:
Understand foundational family systems concepts like homeostasis, cybernetics, and feedback loops.
Distinguish among major family therapy models, including Bowen’s Extended Family Systems, Minuchin’s Structural Family Therapy, and Haley’s Strategic Family Therapy.
Learn the core features and techniques of Symbolic Experiential, Satir’s Transformational, and Milan Systemic Family Therapies.
Identify key interventions such as reframing, mimesis, unbalancing, enactment, circular questioning, and paradoxical strategies.
Explore the roles of defenses, relational ethics, and parentification in models such as Contextual and Psychodynamic Family Therapy.
Apply theoretical knowledge to clinical examples, including family diagrams, feedback loops, and multi-generational dynamics.
Use mnemonic devices and analogies to recall theorists, therapy names, and defining characteristics confidently.