The Psychology Book (46 page)

146

THE FAMILY

IS THE “FACTORY”

WHERE PEOPLE

ARE MADE

VIRGINIA SATIR (1916–1988)

IN CONTEXT

We
learn to react
in

T
he role that a person

assumes in their “family

of origin” (the family they

APPROACH

certain ways to the

grew up in) tends to be the seed

Family therapy

members of our family.

from which the adult will grow.

BEFORE

American psychologist Virginia

1942
Carl Rogers publishes

Satir recognized the importance

Counseling and Psychotherapy
,

that the original family plays in

emphasizing the role of respect

shaping personality, and looked

and a nonjudgmental approach

at differences between a healthy,

in mental health treatment.

functioning family and one that

These reactions
shape

was dysfunctional. She was

AFTER

a role
that we adopt,

especially interested in the roles

1953
US psychiatrist Harry

especially when under stress.

that people tend to adopt in order

Stack Sullivan publishes

to compensate when healthy

The Interpersonal Theory

dynamics are lacking between

of Psychiatry
, which states

family members.

that people are products

A healthy family life involves

of their environment.

open and reciprocated displays

of affection, and expressions of

1965
Argentinian-born

This role may

positive regard and love for one

psychiatrist Salvador

overwhelm our authentic

another. More than any previous

Minuchin brings family

self
and be taken with us

therapist, Satir emphasized the

therapy to prominence at

into adulthood.

power that compassionate,

the Philadelphia Child

nurturing relationships have in

Guidance Clinic.

developing well-adjusted psyches.

1980
Italian psychiatrist Mara

Role playing

Selvini Palazzoli and her

When family members lack the

colleagues publish articles

ability to openly express emotion

about their “Milan systems”

The family is the

and affection, Satir suggested that

approach to family therapy.

“factory” where

personality “roles” tend to emerge

people are made.

in place of authentic identities. She

noted five commonly played roles

PSYCHOTHERAPY 147

See also:
Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Lev Vygotsky 270 ■ Bruno Bettelheim 271

The Five Family Roles

Five distinct

personality roles
,

according to Satir,

are commonly

played out by

individual family

members in order

to cover up difficult

emotional issues.

Distractor

Computer

Leveler

Blamer

Placator

that individual family members are

believed that in order to cast aside

likely to adopt, especially in times

these false identities, whether as

Virginia Satir

of stress. These are: the family

children or as adults, we must

member who constantly finds

accept self-worth as a birthright.

Virginia Satir was born on

fault and criticizes (“the blamer”);

Only then will it be possible to start

a farm in Wisconsin and

the non-affectionate intellectual

moving toward a truly fulfilling

is said to have decided she

(“the computer”); the person who

existence. This begins with a

wanted to be a “detective of

stirs things up in order to shift the

commitment to straightforward,

people’s parents” at the age

of six. Losing her hearing for

focus away from emotional issues

open, and honest communication.

two years due to an illness

(“the distractor”); the apologetic

The need for basic, positive,

helped to make her acutely

people-pleaser (“the placator”);

emotional connections lies at the

observant of nonverbal

and the open, honest, and direct

root of Satir’s pioneering work. She

communication, and gave her

communicator (“the leveler”).

believed that love and acceptance

a sensitive insight into human

Only levelers maintain a

are the most potent healing forces

behavior. Her father was an

healthy, congruent position, with

for any dysfunctional family. By

alcoholic, and she was well

their inner feelings matching their

fostering close, compassionate

aware of the dynamics of

communications with the rest of

relationships with her patients,

caretaking, blaming, and

the family. Others adopt their

she mimicked the dynamic she

pleasing that went on around

various roles because low self-

was encouraging them to adopt. ■

her during her own childhood.

esteem makes them afraid to

Satir trained as a teacher,

show or share their true feelings.

but her interest in problems of

Placators are afraid of disapproval;

self-esteem in children led her

to take a master’s degree in

blamers attack others to hide

social work. She set up the first

feelings of unworthiness;

formal family therapy training

computers rely on their intellect

program in the US and the

to stop them acknowledging their

By knowing how to heal

“Satir Model” is still hugely

feelings; and distracters—often the

the family, I know how to

influential in personal and

youngest in the family—believe

heal the world.

organizational psychology.

they will only be loved if they are

Virginia Satir

seen as cute and harmless.

Key works

These adopted roles may allow

the family to function, but they can

1964
Conjoint Family Therapy

overwhelm each individual’s ability

1972
Peoplemaking

to be his or her authentic self. Satir

148

TURN ON,

TUNE IN,

DROP OUT

TIMOTHY LEARY (1920–1996)

IN CONTEXT

APPROACH

T
imothy Leary was an thought we should do is “Drop Out,”

American psychologist

by which he meant that we should

who became an iconic

detach ourselves from artificial

figure of the 1960s counterculture,

attachments and become self-reliant

Experimental psychology

coining possibly the most widely

in thought and deed. Unfortunately,

BEFORE

used catchphrase linked with that

“Drop Out” has been misinterpreted

era: “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.”

as urging people to halt productivity,

1890s
William James says

However, the order in which

which was never his intention.

that the self has four layers:

Leary wished us to do these three

Next, Leary tells us to “Turn

the biological, the material,

things is slightly different. He felt

On,” or delve into our unconscious,

the social, and the spiritual.

that society was polluted by politics,

and “find a sacrament which

1956
Abraham Maslow

and made up of sterile, generic

returns you to the temple of God,

stresses the importance of

communities that do not allow the

your own body.” This is a command

“peak experiences” in the

depth of meaning needed by true

to explore deeper layers of reality, as

route to self-actualization.

individuals. The first thing he

well as the many levels of experience

and consciousness. Drugs were one

AFTER

way to do this, and Leary, a Harvard

1960s
British psychiatrist

professor, began experimenting

Humphry Osmond coins the

with the hallucinogenic drug LSD.

term “psychedelic” to describe

To “Tune In,” Leary asks us to

the emotional effects of the

return to society with a new vision,

drugs LSD and mescaline.

seeking fresh patterns of behavior

that reflect our transformation, and

1962
In his “Good Friday

to teach others our newfound ways. ■

Experiment,” US psychiatrist

and theologian Walter Pahnke

tests if psychedelic drugs can

The psychedelic movement
of the

deepen religious experience.

1960s was heavily influenced by Leary’s

call to create a better, more satisfying

1972
US psychologist Robert

society by exploring the unconscious to

E. Ornstein argues in
The

uncover our true emotions and needs.

Psychology of Consciousness

that only personal experience

See also:
William James 38–45 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39

can unlock the unconscious.

PSYCHOTHERAPY 149

INSIGHT MAY

CAUSE BLINDNESS

PAUL WATZLAWICK (1921–2007)

of cause and effect. Watzlawick

IN CONTEXT

P
sychotherapy often relies

heavily on patients gaining

was drawn to the idea of circular

an understanding of

causality of human behavior, which

APPROACH

themselves, their history, and their

shows people tend to return to the

Brief therapy

behavior. This is based on the

same actions again and again.

BEFORE

belief that to counter emotional pain

Insight, Watzlawick suggested,

1880s
Psychodynamic

and change behavior, we need to

may even cause blindness, both to

therapy, also known as insight-

understand where our emotional

the real problem and its potential

oriented therapy, emerges.

patterns are rooted. Austrian-

solution. He supported the brief

It focuses on unconscious

American psychologist Paul

therapy approach, which targets

processes as manifested in

Watzlawick described this process