Article: Satir's Therapeutic Beliefs
Satir's Therapeutic Beliefs
About Human Connectedness:
1. We are all manifestations of the same life-force.
2. Human processes are universal and therefore applicable in different settings,
cultures and circumstances.
3. People connect on the basis of sameness and grow on the basis of being
different.
4. People are basically good. They need to find their own treasure to connect
and validate their own self-worth.
5. Healthy human relationships are built on equality of value.
About Our Parents:
6. Parents do the best they can at any given time.
7. Parents often repeat the familiar patterns from their growing up times, even if
the patterns are dysfunctional.
8. One goal in moving towards wholeness is to accept our parental figures as
people and meet them at their level of personhood rather than only in their
roles.
About Our Coping:
9. The problem is not the problem, coping is the problem.
10. Coping is the manifestation of the level of self-worth. The higher one's self-
worth, the more wholesome the coping.
11. Most people choose familiarity over comfort, especially during times of
stress.
12. Feelings belong to us; we all have them.
13. Appreciating and accepting the past increases our ability to manage our
present.
About Change:
14. We all have internal resources we need in order to cope successfully and to
grow.
15. Change is possible. Even if external change is limited, internal change is
possible.
16. We have choices, especially in terms of responding to stress instead of
reacting to situations.
17. A major goal of therapy is to become one's own choice maker.
18. Therapy needs to focus on health and possibilities instead of pathology.
19. We cannot change past events, only the impact they have on us.
20. Hope is a significant component or ingredient for change.
21. Process is the avenue of change. Content forms the context in which change
can take place.
22. Congruence and high self-esteem are major goals in the Satir Model.
