Family · Assessment
Structural Family Therapy Map
Minuchin's subsystems and boundaries
Salvador Minuchin's structural family therapy sees families as a set of subsystems (spouse, parental, sibling) held together by boundaries. Problems live in unclear boundaries, cross-generational coalitions, and parentified children. This sheet maps yours.
Our subsystems
Subsystem
Members
Boundary strength (rigid / clear / diffuse)
Spouse subsystem · parental subsystem · sibling subsystem · extended-family subsystem.
Cross-generational coalitions
Which parent-child pair is closer than the parent-parent pair?
Which child ended up doing adult jobs (mediator, therapist, co-parent)?
Restructuring moves
- Reinstate the parental subsystem — adults align on rules before addressing kids
- Return the parentified child to child role — take the job back
- Firm up the spouse subsystem — protected time, protected conversation
- Loosen a rigid boundary (isolation from extended family, cutoff)
- Firm up a diffuse boundary (kids in adult conflicts, enmeshment)
One structural move we'll make this month
Structure before content
Minuchin's insight: fix the shape of the family and many of the content-level fights resolve on their own.