INDIVIDUALISM, FAMILY IDEOLOGY AND FAMILY-THERAPY

This paper examines the ethical aims of family therapy and its relatio nship to the ideals of contemporary culture. Although family therapy h as defined itself in part by rejecting an individualistic view of pers ons, it appears to have adopted a normative ideal for families that is tightly bound up with modern individualism. The modern nuclear family is a crucial support for individual autonomy in contemporary society through its provision of a private, emotionally intimate environment. By accepting this model of the family, family therapists are in the aw kward position of indirectly supporting modern individualism and there by perpetuating a view of individuals and families that contributes to the difficulties we seek to ameliorate.