INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY-THERAPY - A CASE-STUDY

The admission of a family member into a therapeutic clinic always invo lves huge changes in the family dynamics and brings on a crisis of som e kind. We studied the dynamics in family therapy within the proscribe d frame of clinical treatment by taking a closer look at couple-therap y as directed by the individual therapist of the 'identified patient'. In the interest of system research we chose to apply the 'structural hermeneutics' method in order to describe the process of change in all iances. Two sequences were chosen from a series of therapy sessions wi th the identified patient, her partner, her individual therapist and a co-therapist. A hermeneutic reconstruction of the case-structure was undertaken on these two examples. It is evident that the existing ther apeutic alliance between the female patient and her male individual th erapist leads to specific problems with the therapeutic alliance in th e new system. The strength of this relationship becomes visible when t he partner joins the therapy and tends to deepen the gap which already exists between the partners. The rivalry between the two men makes it more difficult to establish a relationship with the patient's partner . Overall, it becomes harder to establish a strong therapeutic allianc e within the new system, which is key to fostering the necessary trust inherent in changing a couple's dynamic interaction. In this context, the neutral female co-therapist plays an important role in changing t he charged triangle into a more stable therapeutic square.