Systemic Therapies: MRI and Milan (Essay Sample)

Systemic Therapies: MRI and Milan Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Course Name Lecturer Date Systemic Therapies: MRI and Milan Mental Research Institute (MRI) and Milan are systematic therapies used in family therapy. MRI pioneers include Don Jackson and Gregory Bateson, who stated that the solution to the problem is the problem. This meant that the main idea is understanding the problem before judging the situation. The main concept of MRI is problem-solving. MRI does not focus on the past or judge individuals based on their past but focuses on the problem and its interactional patterns. The pattern has several stages in interactional patterns that go in a cycle. These include normal homeostasis, tension rises, symptoms, and tension subsides. Normal homeostasis focuses on understanding how things were before the beginning of the conflict; tension rises focus on early positive feedback; symptom focuses on what escalated the situation of the client, and tension subsides focus on how things get back to normalcy (Gehart, 2016). MRI does not focus on growth but on the problem; the therapist’s goal is to solve the problem. MRI does not operate under ‘healthy family functioning’; it operates on the basis that the family system will come to reorganize itself later. The role of a therapist in MRI is to work on dysfunctional family systems and develop solutions. In MRI, therapists apply various techniques, such as systemic reframing, where the role of the family system is considered and linked to how it helps maintain homeostasis. Paradoxical interventions are also important for therapists in creating change with family changes. In this approach of prescribing symptoms, the therapist relies on the unconscious cognition of the client to solve problems and heal (Gehart, 2016). One proponent of Milan therapy is Mara Selvini Palazzoli. Unlike MRI, Milan therapy has three major focus areas: circular questioning, neutrality, and joining the family system. Circular questioning of Milan therapy focuses on questions such as behavioral sequence, behavioral difference, comparison and ranking, before and after questions, and hypothetical circular questions. Milan involves therapists giving directions to the family based on specific tasks during the session. In neutrality, non-partiality and multi-partiality of the family problem are considered. Power dynamics and communication patterns are important in Milan therapy and are used to achieve change in a family. Collaboration with the family system is important in Milan, and it is used to identify solutions to problems based on the family system. The therapist in this therapy is non-judgmental, and the family is involved in the therapy (Gehart, 2015). Despite the di...