The psychosomatic family model. A critical analysis of family interaction concepts

Abstract

The psychosomatic family model of Minuchin and his colleagues is one of the best known and influential viewpoints in the field of family therapy. This article critically analyses this model and related concepts, focusing on the lack of clear definitions, especially with regard to the interactional concepts: enmeshment, rigidity, overprotectiveness, and lack of conflict resolution. Each concept is discussed, concluding with the recommendation of a new definition, so that the model can be empirically verified. The authors suggest that Minuchin's model can be reduced to three fundamental interactional dimensions: the intensity of intrafamilial boundaries, the degree of the family's adaptability, and the family's way of handling conflicts. A research method is presented in which the way of assessing these interactional dimensions is demonstrated.

Towards a verification of the psychosomatic family model: A pilot study of ten families with an anorexia/bulimia nervosa patient

“…In our sample, there is even a tendency towards organizational variability (mean = 27.8). But more importantly, we ascertain that anorexiahulimia nervosa families can take either position on the continuum: from rigid (Family 3) to flexible (Family 8) to chaotic (Family 4), as we hypothesize elsewhere (Kog et al, 1985).…”

Redefining the psychosomatic family: Family process of 26 eating disorder families

“…Firstly, it makes no reference to states where too much change is present, and unlike Olson's definition of adaptability, it is therefore unidimensional. Secondly, it does not take into account two distinctive uses of the term: (1) a limited repertoire in the current, interactional processes of the family, and (2) an inability to change over time (Kog et al, 1985a(Kog et al, , 1985b. What both have in common of course is that the family responds in very limited ways to external cues and appears to function as if it was isolated from the outside world.…”

Beyond the “Psychosomatic Family”: A Biobehavioral Family Model of Pediatric Illness

“…To date, the “psychosomatic family” model (Minuchin, Baker, Rosman, et al ., 1975) is the only model that systematically includes the family level in considering psychobiological factors in childhood illness. Recently, however, the “psychosomatic family” model has come under strong criticism (Campbell, 1986; Coyne & Anderson, 1988, 1989; Kog, Vandereycken, & Vertommen, 1985; Steinglass & Horan, 1988; Wood, Watkins, Boyle, et al ., 1989). Critics claim that the model does not address the most clinically significant family factors and fails to consider positive family factors, thus promoting family‐blaming.…”