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Asthma, power, and the therapeutic conversation
1Psychology Department, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Family Process
|June 1, 1994
Summary
Family therapy can help children with chronic asthma by examining power dynamics. Understanding wider family and social power relations is crucial for effective asthma management and therapeutic success.
Area of Science:
- Family Therapy
- Pediatric Asthma Management
- Social Sciences
Background:
- Previous studies suggest family therapy benefits children with chronic, uncontrolled asthma.
- Research has primarily focused on child-parent power dynamics.
- A broader examination of contextual power relations is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore wider contextual power relations impacting families with a child experiencing asthma.
- To theorize the role of power in understanding these family dynamics.
- To analyze how power relations affect therapeutic encounters and asthma management.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis integrating Foucault's work with Hoffman, Anderson, and Goolishian.
- Qualitative examination of power dynamics in family therapy for pediatric asthma.
- Illustration with examples from a research project.
Main Results:
- Power relations extend beyond the child-parent dyad, influencing family experiences with asthma.
- Therapeutic encounters may lack consensus due to power dynamics, hindering effective asthma management.
- Integrating theoretical frameworks aids in understanding distorted therapeutic understandings.
Conclusions:
- A more comprehensive understanding of power is essential for effective family therapy in pediatric asthma.
- Addressing systemic power relations can improve asthma management outcomes.
- Theoretical integration offers insights into therapeutic process challenges.