Strategic Therapy vs. Structural TherapyStrategic and structural therapy are two forms of therapy that offer similarities and differences in treatment to help the family communicate more effectively with each other. The therapist's goal is to find creative interventions to help stabilize the family to maintain an adequate relationship in their environment. Within this article, a brief description of the similarities and differences between structural and strategic therapy will demonstrate how two forms of behavior therapy can help families by changing behavior. Compare and Contrast. The concept of structural family therapy is the way in which the therapist "views the family as a system structured according to pre-established patterns and rules that govern family interactions" (2003, Gehart & Tuttle, p. 23). The therapist's goal is to interact with clients during the therapy session to gain an understanding of the reported problem. This process will allow the therapist to assist clients in changing their structure. The concept of strategic family therapy is to attempt to address a specific family problem over a period of time shorter time than other therapeutic services. Both approaches strive to help clients overcome their family problems, however they view the structure of the family differently. For example, the structural approach works with the family by identifying problems and improving behavior and strategic therapy works with changing the client's behavior to improve the problem. Both structural and strategic therapy have goals aimed at assisting clients. The goal of the structural approach is to “alter the dysfunctional structure to promote problem solving and facilitate growth of the system to resolve symptoms and encourage…middle of paper…members connect with each other will enable to the therapist to get an idea of ​​the origin of the problem. I find myself using a similar approach when conducting an intake or evaluation to determine the diagnosis and causes of the diagnosis. The strategic approach seems to work effectively with some clients, however I believe it may encourage negative behavior in some. For example, a father tells his son to wash the car outside at his house and the son drives the car to a wash and gets several scratches. When the father confronts the son about his challenging behavior, the son responds by yelling and reporting that he can do whatever he wants. The son demonstrated role confusion. While both approaches can help clients stabilize the family relationship, it is my opinion that the structural approach aligns more with my vision for change.