The abused woman and her family of origin

The abuse of women in significant heterosexual relationships is an important societal problem in the United States. Structural family therapy offers a useful perspective to nurse therapists working with abused women who have left the abusive relationship to rejoin their families of origin. Common errors are avoided if the abused woman and her family are diagnosed within the system's context of structural family therapy. Dysfunctional transactional patterns that originated in the abused woman's childhood or adolescent years can be challenged at their source.