When providing family therapy services, it is really important to comprehend how a family system functions. A very important appraisal of this is the presence or absence of rituals. Rituals in families have many purposes. They can let us know how family members relate relate to one another, what rituals are used to help the family heal, how each family member identifies himself or herself and accepts change, what families as a whole believe corporately, and how families celebrate together.
It’s also significant to understand the parts of a ritual. People can use symbols that are meaningful to them, and with these symbols, there is a symbolic action to perform the ritual. A symbol can have structured parts and/or open parts. Rituals can be carried out in a special time and/or a special place.
There are also types of rituals like those we do on an everyday basis. These rituals can be simple and spontaneous or extraordinarily deliberate and unique. There are many possibilities to switch these kinds of rituals. Some examples of daily rituals include saying grace at dinner or the seating positions where poeple sit at the dinner table. Another example of a regular ritual is how people say goodbye to each other or how they greet each other. A third example is what occurs during bedtime with youngsters.
The second kind of ritual is family conventions. These are the family days that are written on calendars. Others outside of the family may not recognize the space-time of these family traditions, and the people within the family customarily proceed to go to work or school on these days. Families normally have flexibility with these family traditions. Examples of these rituals include birthdays and anniversaries. It's vital to ask people if there are cakes, special dinners or parties with people outside the core family.
The third category is the celebrations of major family holidays which can be complicated, since the media and culture can dictate how people “should’ celebrate. Not suprising, there is usually much strain on families during these celebrations. These are the rituals that have been stamped on the calendar and include Christmas, Thanksgiving, and so forth.
The last category of rituals is the life-cycle rituals. These are the rituals that help people pass from one stage of life to another. They help to mark the start and finish of relationships. Examples of these are births, baptisms, bar mitzvahs, funerals, and marriages.
Therapists and counselors of family therapy services help families whose rituals are minimized, interrupted or unflexible. Therefore , the best family therapy techniques will consider what the family’s ideal rituals and traditions may be , and the way the members can be returned to celebrate them together again.
Books Used as Reference and Suggested Reading
Black, Evan Imber and Roberts, Janine (1998). Rituals for our times: Healing and changing our lives and relationships. Jason Aronson, Inc.
Dr. Judy DeTrude is licensed in Texas as a Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and is an Authorized Supervisor for both of the licenses. Offering treatment services at Achieve Balance in The Woodlands, Texas, in this article she addresses how family therapy is improved when it takes into account the rituals and traditions of a family.