BusynMember
Well-Known Member
Person who wrote this article must have spied on my family for "dysfunctional" part. I copied too much...sorry. For me, I stopped reading at the end of the article and skipped everything else. I'm in a rush to get ready for work.
What Makes a Family Functional vs Dysfunctional?
By Elvira G. Aletta, Ph.D.
The other day I was responding to someone who was dreading the holidays with her ‘dysfunctional family’ (her words). It got me thinking about that word, dysfunctional, and how it implies that there is an opposite, functional, family somewhere. What does that look like? Is it a Perfect Family? Some Stepford-like pod of people who never fight, are always neat and smiling? Yeesh! That sounds horrible. In fact it sounds downright dysfunctional!
So what is a functional family? How do we know if we have one? How would you define a functional family?
The study of family dynamics, family therapy and treatment are complex and a whole field of psychology in itself. While I don’t have all the answers, I do have some thoughts. These impressions come as much from my experience as from education and training. No family is perfect, even the functioning ones. My family of origin was what I’d call dysfunctionally functional. From them I learned as much what not to do as the opposite. In my work with couples and counseling parents, I see what works and what doesn’t.
Read the article here: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/12/15/what-makes-a-family-functional-vs-dysfunctional/
{{{note from cheryl aka runawaybunny: Copying and pasting an entire article, story or any other copyrighted materials here is a no-no because it violates the copyright of the author and/or the site that it was copied from. It's okay to post small excerpts and/or your own comments and a link to the original work. Thank you in advance for understanding.}}}
What Makes a Family Functional vs Dysfunctional?
By Elvira G. Aletta, Ph.D.
The other day I was responding to someone who was dreading the holidays with her ‘dysfunctional family’ (her words). It got me thinking about that word, dysfunctional, and how it implies that there is an opposite, functional, family somewhere. What does that look like? Is it a Perfect Family? Some Stepford-like pod of people who never fight, are always neat and smiling? Yeesh! That sounds horrible. In fact it sounds downright dysfunctional!
So what is a functional family? How do we know if we have one? How would you define a functional family?
The study of family dynamics, family therapy and treatment are complex and a whole field of psychology in itself. While I don’t have all the answers, I do have some thoughts. These impressions come as much from my experience as from education and training. No family is perfect, even the functioning ones. My family of origin was what I’d call dysfunctionally functional. From them I learned as much what not to do as the opposite. In my work with couples and counseling parents, I see what works and what doesn’t.
Read the article here: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/12/15/what-makes-a-family-functional-vs-dysfunctional/
{{{note from cheryl aka runawaybunny: Copying and pasting an entire article, story or any other copyrighted materials here is a no-no because it violates the copyright of the author and/or the site that it was copied from. It's okay to post small excerpts and/or your own comments and a link to the original work. Thank you in advance for understanding.}}}
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