Virginia Satir’s Transformational Systemic Therapy: A Transpersonal Approach to Family Therapy

Virginia Satir's family therapy approach aligns with transpersonal psychology, which addresses spiritual and transcendent aspects of human experience. The paper explores how Satir's concepts—grounding, centering, congruence, the Self/I AM in the iceberg model, and the therapist's use of self—can incorporate transpersonal perspectives. It discusses creating a transpersonal space of trust to strengthen the therapeutic alliance and applying nondual psychotherapeutic approaches to the therapist's self in therapy. Intersubjectivity and the therapist's beingness are highlighted as promoting transcendence, awareness, and healing for the family. Satir family therapy is recommended as a modality for transpersonally-oriented psychotherapists.

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Abstract

The work of Virginia Satir, a pioneer family therapist, is examined as a transpersonal approach to family therapy. Ways in which transpersonal perspectives may be applied in family therapy are explored in Satir’s notions of grounding and centering, the evolving and transcending concept of congruence using the Self/I AM concept in the Satir iceberg model, as well as the Satir conceptualization of the therapist’s use of self. Aspects of transpersonal psychotherapy relevant to the practice of family therapy are examined, including the creation of a transpersonal space of trust in order to strengthen the therapeutic alliance, going beyond meaning in working with the family system to apply transpersonal (e.g. nondual psychotherapeutic) approaches to the therapist’s use of self in therapy. A discussion of intersubjectivity and the role of the beingness of the family therapist in promoting transcendence, awareness, and healing for the family is included. Satir family therapy is consistent with transpersonal psychotherapeutic perspectives and is therefore recommended as a prospective family therapy modality for the transpersonally-oriented psychotherapist. KEYWORDS Satir, Family Therapy, Transpersonal Psychology, Transpersonal Psychotherapy, Transcendence, Consciousness, Transformation, Intersubjectivity, Nondual Psychotherapy.