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Family Systems Techniques & Family Therapy Tools

 

Stay in touch to be the first to learn about Family Systems Techniques and Family Therapy Activities from My People Patterns. 

 
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Top Three Family Systems Videos

Structural Family Systems Techniques

A roadmap to some of the techniques I use in Family Therapy Sessions.

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Structural Family Mapping Technique

My favorite of all tools in the Structural Family Systems toolbox - a total game-changer. 

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Circular Questioning In Family Therapy

See how I use circular questioning in my first few family therapy sessions to find out more about the system. 

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Top Family Systems Courses

An Introduction To Circular Questioning

I have found that circular questioning can be incredibly effective in family therapy sessions and I really with I had discovered this technique when I first started working with families. The idea behind using this technique in the first few sessions is that you can identify how various family members interact to sustain or exacerbate the problem that they are coming to see you for. Without this technique up my sleeve, it would take me much longer to identify what was going on - I would get lost in the content or confused by conflicting opinions. This video will help you stay on track and provide you with many examples of the types of questions I ask. There's a PDF to download with all the questions I ask on it so you don't have to take notes in the video.

$9.99 USD

Enmeshment: Helping Teenage Clients Differentiate.

Therapy with teens can be challenging when there are signs of family enmeshment, but you only have access to one person in the family. There are a few ways to use family systems therapy in your work with an individual teen to help with enmeshment and differentiation, and this is one of the techniques that we use frequently.  The activity helps clients see if they are having the same thoughts, feelings and behaviors as a family member, and gives them the option to decide to keep them or not. 

$5.99 USD

Family Sculpting

& Family Portraits

Experiential Family Therapy Techniques: 

 Family Sculpting is the ULTIMATE in experiential family therapy techniques and during Covid, my team and I created a way to do it without the family or a group! Watch this video to see how I do both activities.

Watch The Video
PDF INSTRUCTIONS

Structural Family Systems Therapy: Family Mapping Tool

Watch the video and download the accompanying slides and handouts by signing up for our mailing list below. 

- Family Mapping for Clinicians

- Observational Family Assessments

- Family Mapping Intervention

Download The PDF

Parenting Styles and Family Structure 

Watch the video and download the accompanying mini-ebook by taking the quiz and signing up for our mailing list.

- Parenting Styles

- Family Structure

- Symptoms of Teens

Take The Quiz

Working With Teens:

Fusion and Enmeshment

 

Download the 'Shared Belief' Worksheet here, and it's yours to use in your next session. The video (on YouTube and here) explains how to use it, and you'll also get some slides from the video along with instructions and the blank worksheet.

 

Get The Activity

OUR TRIED AND TESTED FAMILY THERAPY TECHNIQUE :

The Family Projective Activity

This was a great activity I repeatedly used while running a large multifamily group for teens, parents, and siblings in residential treatment. The conversations and connections that came from processing the answers were often moving and frequently delightful to facilitate.

Family Therapy Tools For Clinicians

Family Projections Activity: Understanding Your Client's Family

This activity was created when working with a family who had difficulty in sharing personal experiences of being in the relationship with each other. In particular one of the teens was unable to tell his family verbally what he was experiencing with regards to academic pressure from his parents. This activity allowed both him and his sibling to share with their parents how they felt. The result was impactful and provocative in all the right ways - a family that had difficulty sharing with me, all of a sudden became animated as if this was the catalyst needed for them to talk more.  This was also used to great effect in a Multifamily group in which parents and teens were able to share and ask each other questions  

$5.99 USD

Family Systems Therapy Consultation

A 50-minute consultation call with Oliver Drakeford, LMFT, CGP to discuss a case of your choice through a systemic lens. Please email me before purchasing to ensure our schedules are aligned (note I am located in California), and we can discuss how to proceed.

$99.00 USD

Enmeshment: Helping Teenage Clients Differentiate.

Therapy with teens can be challenging when there are signs of family enmeshment, but you only have access to one person in the family. There are a few ways to use family systems therapy in your work with an individual teen to help with enmeshment and differentiation, and this is one of the techniques that we use frequently.  The activity helps clients see if they are having the same thoughts, feelings and behaviors as a family member, and gives them the option to decide to keep them or not. 

$5.99 USD

   

Get the complete guide to Family Mapping that accompanies our video here. 

FREE FAMILY MAPPING PDF

Please sign up here and you'll be the first to know when there are new Family Systems and Family Therapy tools. As a thank you, you will be able to download the PDF to accompany the Family Mapping Video which includes instructions and more examples.