Family Therapies within the Context of a Culturally Diverse New Zealand The evolution of Family Therapy

The origins of family therapy were based on a paradigm proposed by Talbot Parsons in 1954, which held a highly structural and functional view of the family. The characteristics believed to constitute a functional family involved establishing clear and distinct roles for men and women, with the nuclear family providing the accepted standard. (Canino, I.A. & Inclan, J.E., 2001) This view of the family was considered universal and thus applied across diverse groups equally (Canino, I.A. & Inclan, J.E., 2001). Within the field came a gradual movement away from this culturally insensitive, male dominated model to a context dependent, culturally aware field in which ‘family’ can be understood in a range of ways.