Sibling Therapy With Multiproblem Families*

Abstract

Most family therapy deals with the parent‐child system. However, with chaotic multiproblem families, this often is not possible. When parents refuse to, or cannot, participate in the therapy, working with just the siblings (Sibling Therapy) offers one way to provide help to troubled children. When parents offer inconsistent or inadequate nuturing, seeing the children together is a way of developing or strengthening the bonds among them and teaching them how to be available to each other. This article proposes setting treatment goals that are consistent with the cultural and family styles of these children, describes methods for developing caring and cohesion, and presents techniques for working with these children.

Extending the uses of sibling therapy with children and adolescents.

“…Also, parents might fear being cast solely in a negative light or might dread the divulgence of family secrets if siblings are seen alone. "Joining" with parents during regularly scheduled adjunctive sessions, addressing confidentiality concerns, showing respect for parents' position of authority in the family, or even extending invitations to parents to quietly sit in on sibling sessions, as proposed by Lewis (1986), can diminish any potential for resistance. Rosenberg (1980) astutely pointed out that sibling therapy is ill advised when there is little congruence in the pivotal developmental tasks faced by different siblings.…”

“…Sibling therapy as a distinct treatment modalityfor child and adolescent problems has received scant attention in the psychotherapy literature beyond its perceived utility during times of family disintegration and reorganization when parents are either absent or reluctant to participate in therapy (Lewis. 1986(Lewis.…”

“…Sibling therapy as a distinct treatment modality for child and adolescent problems has received scant attention in the psychotherapy literature beyond its perceived utility during times of family disintegration and reorganization when parents are either absent or reluctant to participate in therapy (Lewis, 1986(Lewis, , 1988(Lewis, , 1995Rosenberg, 1980;Schibuk, 1989). Although family therapists do endorse sibling work, the emphasis tends to be on brief interventions that are geared toward reintroducing the identified patient to the sibling subsystem so as to consolidate his or her disentanglement from the parental subsystem (Fishman, 1993).…”

Friends in Family Therapy: Use of a Neglected Resource

“…This adult‐centric view not only survives in the family, schools, and religious institutions, but has insiduously crept into the practice of family therapy. Although Minuchin (23) described the importance of siblings as “the first social laboratory in which children can experiment with peer relationships” (p. 59), most family therapy deals with parent‐child relationships (22).…”

Thinking about Siblings Who are Fostered Together

“…Timberlake and Hamlin (1982) emphasise the benefits of using sibling groups to facilitate coping with separation and loss before and during fostering and placement. Lewis (1986) suggests the use of group sessions with siblings to reinforce their identity and interdependence. Bank and Kahn (1982) have researched the nature of sibling relationships and recommend involving siblings in joint therapy.…”